Ten Inch Love Story
by ArtistKurai
Summary: The BCG family gets even bigger when Priestly's cousin Ezra comes to town. Bringing with him laughter, love, and a little bit of romance, he's an addition the gang didn't even know they needed. Especially when he gets a little addition of his own.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen! I'm so super excited about posting this story. You guys don't even know. Well, one of you does. You know what I mean! Many thanks go to the wonderful stormygrace for the amazing cover art. I still have it as my desktop wallpaper!

For those of you that are wondering, yes, that is Jared Padalecki playing Priestly's cousin Ezra. Who else would I pick for such a role?

Disclaimer: I know I own Ezra, since I created him, but can I say that I also own Priestly? Is that too much to ask for?

* * *

"Man, Bo didn't say he was working with so many good-looking girls," thought Ezra Hale as he gazed into the Beach City Grill window. He watched the goings on of the sub shop for a few minutes, just to get a glimpse into life at the grill. A gorgeous girl with dark hair walked across the room to bring an order to a table. Her hair flipped flirtatiously over her shoulder before she turned back to the counter and started a conversation with a blonde girl sitting behind a computer. Ezra couldn't tell much about her because the brunette and the computer monitor were hiding her, but what he could see was quite pretty.

Just then, an older man entered the shop from the back and started talking to the two girls. "That must be Trucker," thought Ezra. He looked exactly as Priestly had described in his letters. Ezra was glad his cousin had a good man he could look up to. He remembered how his uncle, Priestly's dad, would look down on Priestly for his taste in music, clothes, and pretty much anything else. Ezra didn't see anything wrong with his cousin's style, but there wasn't anything they could do about it growing up.

Now, though, Priestly seemed to fit in pretty well with this eccentric and eclectic group of people. "Speak of the devil," mumbled Ezra with a smile as his cousin came into view. The smile grew when he saw his cousin wrap his arms around the gorgeous girl and plant one on her, much to the amusement of the rest of the employees. "Looks like now's a good time to surprise him." With a hard shove, the door swung open and Ezra stepped inside. "Bo, why you been holding out on me, man?" he demanded, arms held out to the side and a huge grin on his face.

"Ziggy? The heck are you doing here?" asked Priestly in wonder as he stepped out to hug his cousin and best friend. "When'd you get back? I thought you were supposed to be gone for a few more months?"

Everyone else at the grill looked upon the reunion with curiosity. None of them had ever heard Priestly mention anyone named Ziggy. They weren't surprised, however, by the man's appearance. At least they weren't surprised by the eccentricity of his appearance. Where they'd expected a brightly colored mohawk or spikes, the man's hair was twisted into dreadlocks all over his head, and instead of eye makeup and intricate sideburns, the newcomer had a somewhat thick beard covering his chin and cheeks. Another thing that stood out was the man's height. He was super tall! He even towered over Priestly, who wasn't short by any means. As the men hugged, the taller one's dark tan contrasted starkly with Priestly's much paler complexion.

The moment was interrupted a minute later by Tish, whose curiosity had gotten the better of her. "You going to introduce us to your friend, Priestly?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah," said Priestly as he pulled out of the hug. "Guys, this is my cousin and best friend, Ezra Hale. Zig, this is Trucker."

He pointed to the older man, who gave Ezra an easy smile. "Good to meet you, man," he said and held out a hand. Ezra returned the handshake.

"This is my beautiful girlfriend, Tish," Priestly continued. Tish gave Ezra the same flirty smile he'd seen her give the customers a moment ago. He figured that was just part of her personality. "And this is Jen, who's like a sister to me."

When Ezra's eyes landed on Jen, he was taken aback. He had been able to tell from outside that she was pretty, but he hadn't noticed her light brown eyes or the freckles spotting her face. "It's nice to meet you, Jen," he said softly.

"Hi," Jen squeaked out shyly. It was no surprise that someone related to Priestly was attractive; Priestly was a very handsome man. But his cousin was something else. He had a dark handsomeness to him, with his tan skin and dark brown hair. But what really stood out to her were his eyes. They smoldered in their green depths as he met her gaze, and she had to turn away.

Ezra knew he'd flustered her by the pretty blush on her cheeks, and he fought off the smile that wanted to stretch his lips. "I got here yesterday, actually," he answered his cousin's earlier question. "I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you."

"Well, you certainly did surprise me," laughed Priestly. "Come sit down. Let me fix you a sandwich." As the mohawked cook returned to his station, Ezra took a seat at the bar to watch his cousin work and continue his conversation with the rest of the staff.

"So, where did you come from?" asked Tish. "You guys kept mentioning you coming back from somewhere. Where were you?"

"Jamaica," answered Ezra. "I was on a mission trip over there."

"Like a church mission trip?" Jen piped up eagerly. She had grown up as a minister's daughter, so she knew the ins and outs of missionary work.

"Yep," Ezra confirmed. "I've been going to Jamaica for several years now. I spend three or four months out of the year over there helping the villagers out and such, and all the while sharing God's Word with the people."

"Is that how you got the dreadlocks?" Trucker asked with a grin.

"Yeah," laughed Ezra. "A couple of the village girls liked my hair and asked if they could fix it. I was the only guy in a group of about ten girls fixing each other's hair." Everyone got a good laugh out of the story and the mental picture it created.

"And he's kept his hair that way ever since," said Priestly as he brought over his cousin's meal. "Here is your veggie sub. You and your rabbit food."

"Hey, it's not my fault," said Ezra defensively. "The villages we visit are primarily Rastafarian, and they're strictly vegetarian. So I got accustomed to not eating meat for long periods of time, sue me." There was no heat behind his words, so everybody got a kick out of it before Ezra bowed his head to pray.

"You know," began Priestly once Ezra started to eat, "you never told my why you came back early."

Ezra slowed in his chewing, mulling over his answer before swallowing his food. "It's not a big deal," he said lightly to cover his discomfort. But Priestly could see right through his cousin, and he knew there was more to it; he probably just didn't want to talk about it in front of everyone else. So he gave his cousin a look that said they'd talk about it later and dropped the subject.

Ezra stayed at the grill for the rest of the day, just chilling with Priestly, Trucker, and the girls. It was nice, just being able to sit and talk with people from home. It was much more comfortable, even though he'd gotten accustomed to the people and culture of Jamaica. It was good to be home.

* * *

A/N: That was a nice beginning, was it not? A very pleasant reunion between the cousins. There's much more to come, so I'll see everybody back here next Friday. Don't forget to review! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello again. Fancy meeting you here. How might you be this fine day? Forgive my eloquence. I'm watching a show that's set in the 40s. Oh, the class! Anyway, welcome back for chapter 2. Onward!

Disclaimer: Would it be weird if I got a kilt, even though I'm a girl?

* * *

At the end of the day, Ezra followed Priestly out of the grill and the two walked together toward Priestly's home. "It's really great to have you here, Zig," said Priestly, clapping a hand on his cousin's shoulder. "It's been too long." 

"I know," agreed Ezra. "Sometimes, letters just don't cut it." He sighed heavily, his thoughts weighing on him. 

"So why did you really come back?" Priestly asked seriously. "Not that I'm not happy you're here; I'm ecstatic, man. But in all the years you've been doing mission work, you've never left early." The men stopped walking, and Priestly got even more concerned when his cousin wouldn't meet his eye. "What's going on, Zig?" 

Ezra breathed a deep sigh. He still wouldn't face Priestly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this before. As I said, sometimes letters just don't cut it." 

"You know you can still tell me anything, though," said Priestly. "We're best friends, dude." 

"I know," Ezra interjected. "I know we're best friends. And that's exactly why I couldn't just tell you in a letter." 

"Tell me what?" The more Ezra stalled, the more worried Priestly became. "Please, Ezra, you're scaring me. Just tell me, man." 

Hearing the use of his real name made Ezra wince. Ever since he first came back from Jamaica with dreadlocks, Priestly had called him Ziggy. He had wanted to nickname him Bob after Bob Marley, but Ezra had protested, saying that there was only one Bob Marley. Instead, they'd settled for Ziggy after Ziggy Marley. Since then, Priestly had only ever called Ezra by his given name when he was worried or concerned. And that was the last thing Ezra wanted. 

"There's this village out near the eastern coast of Jamaica," Ezra began softly. "Not a heavily populated area. There's a girl there that lives outside of that village. She's 16 and lives alone. Her parents are dead, and she doesn't have any other family." 

Confusion came over Priestly. "What about her?" he asked. "Are you going to bring her here or something?" 

"She's pregnant, Bo," Ezra continued. "She has no job, no family, no one in her life to help her, and she's mentally unstable." The taller man had to pause and reign in his emotions before he could keep going. He was thankful his cousin had stayed quiet so he could gather his thoughts. "She has severe depression and anxiety, and sometimes she can't tell what's real or not. I'm part of the team of people that's been taking care of her during her pregnancy." Ezra took another deep breath. "In one of her more lucid moments, she asked me to take care of her baby once it's born." 

"Whoa, as in she made you her baby's guardian?" asked Priestly. His eyes were wide and expressive, and Ezra could see fear, a fear of losing his cousin. 

"As in," answered Ezra nervously, "she asked me to adopt her baby." Priestly's jaw dropped and his worry quickly evaporated into excitement. "I'm gonna be a daddy, Bo." 

"Dude, that's so awesome," Priestly laughed and pulled Ezra in for a tight hug. Another thought occurred to Priestly, and he let go of his cousin. "But what are you doing here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be there with the girl and her kid, help take care of her?" 

"I came here because I need to set up a home," said Ezra. "I can't exactly be dragging a baby all over the place. The kid's going to need a stable home, at least until it's old enough to process environmental changes. And what better place to set up than with my best friend? I mean, the kid has to get to know his or her Uncle Bo, right?" 

Priestly's smile lip up once again. "Uncle Bo? I love it, man. So when's the baby due?" 

"Aaliyah said the last time she was with someone was about four months ago, so we're thinking the baby should be here sometime around mid-July," said Ezra. "Of course, it's not an exact science, so Squirt could get here anytime around there." 

"So what do you need to do to get ready for Squirt?" asked Priestly, adopting his cousin's name for the baby. "House, job, health insurance? Et cetera?" 

"Pretty much," Ezra sighed. "I have to establish a stable home for him and prove that I can provide for him or her." 

"Well, the job's taken care of," said Priestly. "I can talk to Trucker and see if he can give you a job at the grill. I know Piper's wanting to take some more time off, with school and Noah and Julia. Plus she's looking into an internship at some art place. I wasn't really listening when she was telling us about it." 

"Not surprising," Ezra shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, if you can get me a job at the grill, that would take a huge load off of my plate. After that, I really just need to find a place to live. Hopefully, I'll be settled and have a nice amount saved up before he's born." 

"I'm glad you're bringing him back here," said Priestly. "It's already bad enough that I only get to see you every few years, but if you had a kid and I never got to see my niece or nephew? No way." 

"Hey, you're going to be helping me raise him," Ezra snorted. "I can't do all this by myself. Not even gonna try." 

"Alright then, Daddy." Priestly clapped his cousin on the shoulder. "Come back to the grill tomorrow, and we'll talk to Trucker about getting you hired. Ezra gave his cousin a grateful smile, and the two continued to catch up until they got to Priestly's apartment. 

The next day went as smoothly as Priestly predicted it would. As soon as the words Ezra and job left Priestly's lips, Ezra was hired and behind the counter, learning the ropes from Priestly. Things were slow most of the day, for which Ezra was pretty thankful. He didn't think it would be very easy to learn the job when everybody was too busy to teach him. 

Shortly after the lunch rush (if you could even call it that) was gone, a girl with strawberry blonde hair entered the shop. Without looking up from the phone in her hand, she walked behind the counter and rummaged for an apron. She was grumbling lowly about business men and cheapskates. "That's the last time I try to sell a painting to a stock manager," she growled, throwing her phone into her bag and stashing it under the counter. When she finally looked up, the girl's eyes landed on Ezra and she nearly did a double take. "What are you doing back here?" the young woman asked warily. 

Ezra looked around the shop for his cousin, but didn't see the colorful older man anywhere. "I'm Priestly's cousin," he said slowly, feeling a little awkward. "I just started working here." 

"Oh, okay then," the girl said, now with a pleasant smile on her face. "I'm Piper. I work here, too." She held her hand out to shake. 

"Yeah, Priestly's talked about you," said Ezra, returning the handshake. "He said you're an artist?" 

"Yep. I actually painted that wall." Piper gestured toward the beach mural on the back wall depicting Trucker and Zo's commitment ceremony. 

"That's awesome," Ezra gasped, turning to appraise the mural again, this time in a new light. "It's really great." 

"Well, I didn't do all of it by myself," Piper said with a bashful smile. "My stepdaughter Julia helped some. A lot of the brushstrokes in the water are hers." 

"She's really good, too," Ezra complimented. 

"Thanks," Piper beamed. "Well, welcome to Beach City Grill. I know you're going to like working here, especially with Priestly." 

"Because I make everything better," Priestly sang out as he stepped out of the back room. "I see you've met Piper," he said to his cousin. 

"Why didn't you tell us about him?" Piper asked. "If you have a cousin with dreadlocks, you're supposed to share that with your friends. I told you guys pretty much everything when I moved here." 

"You didn't ask if I had a cousin with dreadlocks," answered Priestly, as if it were the simplest thing in the world. 

"Actually, you've never told us anything about your family," Piper realized. "Why don't you?" 

"I don't like talking about my family," Priestly said shortly. Piper couldn't see it, but Ezra could tell his cousin was getting uncomfortable. He knew Priestly didn't like discussing his less-than-stellar family with people he wasn't close with. Ezra knew for a fact that he was the only person Priestly had ever confided in about anything personal. It was why they were so close. 

"Hey, Bo, didn't you mention something about apartment hunting today or tomorrow?" he asked, steering the topic of conversation away from his uncomfortable cousin and their not-so-great family. He said it in a way that sounded as though it had just occurred to him. 

"Oh yeah," said Priestly, recognizing his cousin's deflection for what it was. "Trucker said you can take off after half a day. I still have to work the rest of the day, but Jen's off. Maybe she can take you." 

Ezra tried not to let it show, but his heart skipped a tiny beat at the mention of Jen's name. "Does-does she have experience in house hunting?" he stuttered awkwardly, trying to hide his sudden shyness. 

"Not that I know of," Priestly answered, "but she's really smart and sensible. She'll help you get a good deal." 

"Okay, cool," Ezra said haltingly. He internally cursed himself for acting like a love-sick schoolboy. He was 26, for crying out loud! He was a missionary to Jamaica and adopting a baby as soon as it was born. Why was he getting so twisted up over a girl he just met? 

Little did Ezra know, Priestly bad seen every one of the emotions that just played across his face and in his eyes. 'Ziggy's got a crush on our Jen,' he thought with glee. 'Wait till Tish hears about this.' Casting a surreptitious glance at his cousin, Priestly said, "I'll give Jen a call and see if she'll mind going with you. I'm sure she'll be glad to." He giggled to himself as he stepped into the back and took his phone out of his pocket. 

Just as Priestly suspected, Jen agreed to go house hunting with Ezra. And, just as Priestly also suspected, she was a bit shy about it. It wasn't her usual shyness, though, which had nearly gone away after her good relationship with Jeff Kenline, her online friend who went by Fuzzzy22. No, this was her pre-relationship shyness, with the cute little blush that colored her cheeks and the tiny little smile that lit up her eyes when she thought about the guy she liked. Needless to say, Priestly had high hopes for his cousin and his friend. 

Trucker let Ezra off at 3:00, which was the time they had decided to start their search. Prompt as ever, Jen entered the shop at 3:00 on the dot. "Hey, guys," she greeted sweetly. 

"Hey," Ezra returned. He untied his apron and stashed it under the counter. "Thanks for doing this with me, Jen. Don't know why Bo couldn't just go with me tomorrow," he shot his cousin an amused glare, "but I appreciate it." 

"It's no trouble," Jen assured him with a smile. "Consider it my welcome to Santa Cruz." 

"Alright then." Ezra returned her smile. "Catch'a later, Bo." 

"Have fun, you two," Priestly called out behind them, waving and smiling cheekily. 

"So, why couldn't you just take Ezra house hunting tomorrow?" Trucker asked once the younger pair was gone. "You don't have to work tomorrow." 

"Because Zig's got the hots for Jen," the younger man whispered conspiratorially. 

"Seriously!?" both Trucker and Piper gasped. "No way," whispered Piper. 

"And I think Jen likes Ziggy, too," said Priestly. "When I called her about going with Ziggy, she acted just like she did with Fuzzy. And you guys saw them together just now." 

"I can't wait to tell Tish," Piper squealed. 

"Hey, I get to tell her first," argued Priestly. "I'm the one that noticed it in the first place. And he's my cousin, so I get to tell her first." 

"How about you both tell me at the same time," a voice spoke out as Tish entered the shop. "What are you guys telling me?"

* * *

A/N: There's some sparks a-sparking between Jen and Ezra! Don't forget to review! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: So, I'm just sitting in my living room watching Supernatural, doing a little more writing on this story, and I thought why not go ahead and post the next chapter? So I go ahead and post the next chapter. Yay!

Disclaimer: It's been raining here almost all afternoon. It's amazing.

* * *

As the house hunting wore on, Jen and Ezra found out they had a pretty good bit in common. They quickly fell into easy conversation after leaving the grill. At first, it was just about what kind of home Ezra was looking for, but it didn't take long for the subject to change to more personal things about themselves. 

Ezra felt he learned a good bit about Jen. It was easy to tell that she was a sweet, intelligent young woman. He was impressed by her idea of putting up a website for the grill, even if it was just a ruse to stay online in case she got a message from Jeff. Actually, that impressed him even more than the grill's webpage. 

"So what made you decide to move out here?" asked Jen as they neared the first apartment complex offering available units. "It sounded to me like you're away pretty often, and even when you're back stateside, you live elsewhere." 

"Yeah," Ezra hummed. "I go to Jamaica a lot, usually staying four or five months at a time, and I spend the rest of the year living in my parents' carriage house." 

"Do you work while you're at home?" asked Jen. 

"Yeah, with my dad's construction company." The building next to them caught Ezra's attention. "This place has rooms for rent," he said, drawing Jen's eye to it. 

"This is a good building," said Jen as she led Ezra toward the door. "I had a friend who stayed here for a little while. He enjoyed it a lot. The rooms are really nice, and the rent isn't bad at all." 

"If it was such a good building, why did your friend move?" asked Ezra curiously. "Did he have to move for work or something?" 

"Yeah, he had to go back to L.A. for work," Jen answered. Ezra could tell there was more to it. But she didn't elaborate, so he didn't ask. 

When they entered the building, the first thing they did was find the manager's office. "It's over here," Jen directed. Inside the office was an older man, maybe in his early fifties. He was shorter than average and had balding hair. "Excuse me, Mr. Sellers?" 

"Yes?" the man asked pleasantly. "What can I do for you?" 

"I'm looking for an apartment," Ezra answered. "I saw the vacancy sign outside and thought I'd see what's available." 

"Absolutely!" the older man cheered in delight. "Always delighted to have new tenants. Let me just get my keys and my list of available apartments." It only took the man a minute, and they were off. "What kind of place you looking for?" asked Sellers after they started up the stairs. 

"I'd like a two bedroom apartment," answered Ezra. "It doesn't have to be a huge, spacious apartment, but I do need two bedrooms, and maybe an open kitchen." 

"Got a roommate coming?" asked Sellers. 

"Sort of," Ezra answered vaguely. 

"Well, here's the first unit on our list," the elder man said. He stopped in front of a door and unlocked it. "This one's two bedroom. Doesn't have an open kitchen, or a laundry set. You'll have to go downstairs to the laundry room." 

"Ooh, laundry's gonna be pretty essential, too," Ezra mused aloud. "Can I bring in a washer/dryer set?" 

"Afraid not," said Sellers. "The unit's not set up to include a washer and dryer." 

"Do any of the other apartments come with washers and dryers?" asked Jen as she looked around the kitchen. 

"Some of the upper apartments have washers and dryers, but they're all occupied." 

Ezra gave another glance around the apartment before making his decision. "It's a nice apartment, but I don't think it's quite what I need." 

"Oh well," Sellers said lightly. "I'm sorry it didn't work out for you. I hope you have better luck with the next place." He held a hand out to Ezra. 

"Thank you for showing us the place," said Ezra, shaking the man's hand. "It really is a nice apartment. If it were just for myself, I'd probably take it in a heartbeat." 

"Well, I wish you luck, young man," said Sellers with a smile. He led the younger pair out of the unit and back down to the lobby. 

"So, where to next?" Ezra asked Jen once they were outside. 

The pair went to a few more apartment complexes in the same general area, but none of them were quite right for what Ezra needed. "I think there's a building near Tish's place that has some open units," Jen mused after their fourth unsuccessful attempt. "I think I remember her saying something like that." 

"Let's go see, then." 

The whole time they searched, Jen couldn't stop thinking about the "sort of" roommate Ezra had mentioned at the first apartment they saw. "So," she mumbled hesitantly, "who's that sort of roommate you were talking about?" Ezra have her a puzzled look. "Mr. Sellers at the first building asked if you would be getting a roommate, and you said 'sort of.' What's that about?" 

Ezra breathed a sigh. "You know I said I do missionary work in Jamaica," he began. Jen nodded that she remembered. "Well, there's a girl in one of the smaller villages that's pregnant. She's not nearly capable enough to take care of the baby, so she asked me to adopt it when it's born." 

Jen's eyes lit up. "Ezra, that's awesome! When's the baby due?" she asked excitedly. 

"About five months or so," Ezra answered. "Sometime around mid July is all we know." 

"Are you excited?" asked Jen. 

"Yeah, I'm excited," Ezra smiled. "I'm also pretty nervous, too. I've never been a dad before, you know?" 

"Why did you decide to bring the baby here? Why not go back to your parents' house?" 

"Priestly's my best friend," Ezra answered honestly. "I needed my best friend's help more than my parents'. Of course I'm going to take the baby to meet its grandparents at some point. But I wanted to bring him or her here to live with Uncle Bo." Both of them smiled at Priestly's new moniker. 

"I bet Priestly loved that," laughed Jen. "He still insists we all call him Priestly, even though we all like his first name. But I think Priestly suits his personality better than Boaz." 

"Yeah, he's always been a little insecure about his name," the dreadlocked man sighed. "I'm the only one allowed to call him Bo, though he agreed to Uncle Bo right away." 

"Well, I'm happy to help if you need anything," Jen offered. 

The offer caused a warmth to bloom in Ezra's chest, and he gave her a soft smile. "Thanks, Jen. I really appreciate that." Jen blushed prettily, but didn't say anything else on the subject. It didn't take too long to get to the apartment building, and they quickly found the super's office. 

"Hi," the woman said. She looked to be in her mid to late thirties. "How can I help the two of you?" 

"I heard there are some open apartments here," said Jen. "We were hoping to look at some, if we could." 

"Absolutely," said the woman with a bright smile. "I'm Celine Grays, the manager here." She grabbed up a clipboard with a list of the open apartments and headed to the door. "Alright, let's go look at apartments." The trio left the office and went up to the second floor. "What kind of apartment are you looking for?" 

"Nothing really fancy," Ezra spoke up. "But it needs two bedrooms, laundry room, and preferably an open kitchen, but that's not a huge requirement." 

"Well, I know I can do two bedrooms and laundry," said Celine. She picked out a key and began unlocking a door. "This one's pretty nice." When they walked in, the first thing Ezra noticed was the spacious living room. 

"Wow, look at that," he breathed as his eyes surveyed the layout of the room. The furniture was all situated around the edges of the room, leaving plenty of space in the middle of the room for the baby to play once he was strong enough. 

"And look over at the kitchen," Jen spoke up. Looking up, Ezra saw that there was a window looking out into the living room from the kitchen. "That's just what you were talking about, wasn't it?" 

"Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted," Ezra answered. Jen left the doorway and wandered to the kitchen. 

"You can see straight into the living room," she reported from the window. "The only thing you can't see is the couch itself. That'll be great for when the baby gets big enough to play by himself." 

Celine gasped. "Are you two expecting?" she squealed excitedly. 

"Not exactly," Ezra answered with a blush. "I'm adopting a baby in a few months." 

"I'm just helping him find an apartment," Jen concurred with an embarrassed blush of her own. 

"Well, that's still exciting," said Celine, her enthusiasm not diminishing a bit. "This apartment is very child-friendly. You've already noticed the window to the kitchen and the open spacing in the living room. This is also a two-bedroom apartment, and it comes with a washer and dryer." 

"It sounds pretty perfect," Ezra admitted. He crossed the living room to look at the bedrooms. "These are nice rooms, too." One room was bigger than the other, which Ezra decided would be the nursery so the baby could have plenty of room to play. He didn't need a lot of room for himself. "What's the rent for this apartment?" When the manager told him how much the rent was, Ezra's jaw dropped. "Seriously?" he asked with the beginning's of a bewildered smile. 

"Yep," Celine said with a smile of her own. "And that's including water and electricity. You'll have to get your own cable or internet, but everything else is covered." 

"This place is amazing, Ezra," Jen said in wonder. "You have to get it. You're not going to find a deal like this anywhere else." 

"You're right," agreed Ezra. 'God, you've seen what a great opportunity this is. Please guide me in making the right choice.' After the quick prayer, the dreadlocked man took in the room one more time. "I'll take it," he decided. 

"Wonderful!" Celine cheered. "Alright, you two, let's go back downstairs and take care of some paperwork so you can start moving in." Once the paperwork had been completed and the down payment had been made, Ezra left the building as the proud owner of his own apartment. 

"Let's go back to the grill and celebrate with everybody else," suggested Jen, looking up at her much taller companion. 

"Definitely," Ezra agreed. And they did just that.

* * *

A/N: I did so much better on editing this chapter than I did the last two. I'm just a stickler for correct grammar and punctuation. Don't mind me. I'm just over here in my own little grammar universe. Don't forget to tell me what you think. I love getting reviews. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Now, we return to our regularly scheduled program. Just so you guys know, I seriously couldn't resist the names I gave Ezra's parents. I'm not even sorry.

Disclaimer: I'm so ready to eat the chili I heated up for lunch.

* * *

After telling the Beach City Grill staff about his new apartment, Ezra knew the next step would be to call his parents and have them ship all of his belongings from their house to Santa Cruz. He was a little apprehensive about the call. His family didn't even know he'd returned to the States, much less that he was adopting a child and setting up a home across the country. At least he knew his parents would be supportive of him, unlike Priestly's parents, who were very strict and unwavering. 

Ezra held onto that thought as he took out his phone and dialed his parents' phone number, waiting with held breath as the call connected. "Hello," a pleasant voice answered not half a minute later. 

Ezra let out a sigh as he spoke. "Hey, Mom." 

"Ezra!" his mom shrieked with joy as she recognized her son's voice. "John, get in here." 

"What is it, Mary?" Ezra heard his dad ask in the background. The worry in his voice was strong. 

"Ezzy's on the phone!" Mary answered ecstatically. "You're on speaker, Ez." 

"Hey, Dad," Ezra chuckled. "No need to give him a heart attack, Mom." 

"Of course there is, if it's you calling," Mary retorted playfully. "How've you been? We don't get to hear from you nearly enough." 

"I'm doing good," Ezra answered honestly. "I'm actually in Santa Cruz right now." 

"With Priestly?" asked John. Unlike Priestly's own parents, his Uncle John and Aunt Mary were more than accepting of their nephew's eccentric style. They supported him just as much as they did Ezra, and even helped him move to Santa Cruz when he turned 18. "How is he doing? And what are you doing in California? Aren't you supposed to be in Jamaica until August?" 

"Yeah, I was," Ezra began nervously. "But plans have changed a little." 

"What's going on?" Mary asked, concerned. 

"I'm, uh, adopting a baby in July," he told them with a shaky laugh. "I'm going to be a daddy." 

"I'm going to be a gramma!" Mary got excited again. "Ezra! That's so exciting! When will you get the baby? You said July?" 

"Yep. He's supposed to be born sometime in July." Ezra then launched into the story he'd told his cousin, about the teenage girl he'd come to care for and her request. "So I came here to see Bo and set up a home of my own." 

"Why didn't you come back here, though?" asked John. "You know we would help you out with anything you need, plus you'd still have a good job with the company." 

"I know that," Ezra sighed. "And, believe me, I thought about coming back home when I agreed to adopt the baby, but I needed my best friend. I know you guys know more about kids than Bo or I do, and you won't hesitate to help me, but I need my best friend in this, too." 

The couple on the other end was quiet for a moment as they considered all their son had told them. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that," Mary finally relented. "Goodness knows John and I needed our best friends when you were born." 

"I think I spent more time with Aunt Sandra and Uncle Jim than I did with Nana and Papa," Ezra joked. "Or with Granny and Granddaddy." 

"You're probably not wrong," John agreed. 

"But you'll come visit after the baby's born, right?" asked Ezra. Despite wanting his own place in the same city as his cousin, Ezra couldn't deny that he would need, and want, his parents' emotional support, especially in the beginning. 

"Absolutely!" both parents exclaimed. "You couldn't pay us to stay away," Mary added. 

"Alright," laughed Ezra. It felt so good to have his parents' support in this life changing event. It meant more to him than he could ever express.

* * *

Life was going really well. Ezra had quickly adapted to working at Beach City Grill, and it wasn't long before he was just another one of the family. He came to love Tish. She was such a good match for Priestly; Ezra couldn't have picked a better woman for his cousin. 

Priestly was flourishing. Having his best friend back in his life was amazing for him, and having his cousin and girlfriend getting along so well was more than he could have asked for. 

Piper became a pretty good friend. She and Ezra easily bonded over art and children. The young woman shared some helpful tips for taking care of young children, and she was super fun to be around. 

Jen was something else. The more Ezra spent time with her, the more she intrigued him. After buying his apartment, Jen had stepped in and practically took over unpacking the boxes Ezra's parents had sent from their home and setting up Ezra's new apartment for him. Ezra just stood back and let her. It amused him more than anything else, and Jen seemed to enjoy setting up the home. Ezra liked setting up his apartment with Jen. It made his heart flutter in ways it had only a few times before. The more time he spent around the younger girl, the more he realized how much he liked her. It made him both excited and terribly nervous. But that wasn't enough to deter him from asking her out. 

"Hey, Jen," Ezra said one night as he and Jen were closing at the grill. 

"What's up?" Jen responded, not noticing the slight tremble in his voice. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him acting a bit odd. "Everything okay? You seem nervous about something." 

"Uh, yeah," Ezra stammered. He took a deep breath, then looked up at Jen. "Would-would you like to go to dinner with me tomorrow night?" 

Jen was struck speechless. She couldn't deny the attraction she felt to Ezra. Besides being very handsome, he was also a very smart, sweet, and caring man. He had all of the qualities she admired in Priestly, but while she loved Priestly as a friend and a brother, she felt much more deeply for his cousin. Despite all that, she never expected him to ask her out! 

"R-really?" Jen stuttered shyly, tucking her bangs behind her ear. 

Now bordering on terrified, Ezra nodded his head jerkily. "Yeah. I-I like you a lot, Jen. Will you go out to dinner with me?" 

A gorgeous smile lit Jen's features in a way that nearly made Ezra's heart stop. "Yeah, I'd love to." 

Ezra felt a smile of his own pulling at his lips. "Awesome. Uh, where would you like to go? I don't really know of anywhere around here." 

"There's a good restaurant a couple towns over," Jen suggested. "It's an Italian place, really laid back. It's one of those places where you'd fit in whether you wore jeans and a tshirt or a suit and tie." 

"That sounds nice," Ezra admitted. "So, I'll pick you up from your place at... 6:30?" 

Another beaming smile split Jen's face. "Yeah, sounds good." 

"Great," Ezra couldn't keep the smile off his face. "You want me to walk you home?" he offered. 

"You don't have to," Jen hedged. "I wouldn't want you to go out of your way." She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. 

"It's not out of my way," Ezra assured her. 

Seeing the hopeful look on Ezra's face, Jen just couldn't turn him down. "Okay," she accepted with a bashful grin. "Sure, I'd love for you to walk me home." 

The walk to Jen's apartment was a pleasant one. The stars were shining brightly, and the two had fun pointing out their favorite constellations, especially once Ezra mentioned that he'd taken astronomy in college. All too soon, they found themselves at Jen's door. 

"Thanks for walking me home," Jen said, feeling slightly awkward now that they had to part ways. 

"No problem," said Ezra. "I enjoyed it." 

"I did, too," agreed Jen. They stood in silence for a second, neither knowing what to say, but neither wanting to leave. 

"So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?" Ezra said, internally head slapping himself for his lameness. 

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Jen repeated. Ezra turned to leave and was a few steps down the hall when Jen called out to him again. "Wait." Ezra turned around with an expectant look on his face. "Goodnight." 

A soft smile pulled at Ezra's lips. "Goodnight, Jen," he returned gently, then continued down the hall and out to the street. 

Once back outside in the cool night air, Ezra was reeling. "I've got a date with Jen," he mumbled excitedly to himself. "I've got a date with Jen! I gotta call Bo." Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Ezra fumbled to dial his cousin's number and waited with bated breath as the phone rang. 

"Hey, Zig, what's up?" Priestly mumbled sleepily. He looked over at Tish, who had also fallen asleep. 

"I've got a date with Jen tomorrow," Ezra blurted out in one big breath without even greeting his cousin. 

That woke Priestly up. "You've got a date with Jen?" he repeated loudly, waking up Tish. 

"Wha?" she hummed, not fully awake. "Wha's happ'nin?" 

"Zig's going out with Jen tomorrow night," Priestly reported. "Give me details," he demanded, ignoring his girlfriend squealing next to him. 

"We just got done closing up, and I asked her to dinner," said Ezra. "Then I walked her home." 

"Awww! That's so sweet!" Tish swooned. "So where are you taking her?" 

"Jen mentioned an Italian place a couple towns over. We agreed to go there." 

Tish nodded, though she knew the other man couldn't see. "Good choice for a first date. It's nice, but not intimidating." 

"So what time are you guys going?" asked Priestly, jumping at the change to help his cousin out with a first date. "Trucker'll let you guys off work for your date." 

Ezra's eyes got wide. "I didn't even think about work," he realized and slapped a hand to his forehead. "Why didn't I remember work?" 

"Who cares?" Tish dismissed. "You know Trucker will let you guys off early. We can totally cover for you." 

"Thanks, guys," said Ezra as he let himself into his apartment. "I appreciate it." 

"Of course!" Priestly replied as if it were obvious. "We're all hopeless romantics at Beach City Grill." 

"Yeah," Tish agreed. "For mine and Priestly's first date, Trucker actually closed the grill so they could all help us get ready for our date. And they went all out for it, too, even though we were just going to the diner down the street at midnight." 

"You took Tish to a diner for your first date, Bo?" Ezra laughed incredulously. "Really? I thought you had more class than that." 

"Don't look at me," Priestly defended himself. "It was all Tish's idea. She decided waffles at midnight would be a fun first date. Who was I to disagree?" 

"I can't argue with you there," Ezra admitted. "Well, I'm home, and it's late, so I'm going to bed." 

"Alright. Night, Ziggy," said Priestly. 

"Goodnight, Ez," Tish wished him. 

"Night, guys." After hanging up, Ezra laid back onto his bed and thought about the night's events. A smile came onto his face as he thought of Jen and the way her eyes lit up when he asked her out. He reached up and ran a hand through his hair, and, fingering the ropey locks, an idea occurred to him.

* * *

A/N: I want an Ezra! And a Priestly! Can I have one of each please? Don't forget to tell me what you think about the chapter. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Welcome, brothers and sisters! When last we met, Ezra was thinking. Whatever could he have been thinking of? Let us find out, shall we?

Disclaimer: I got nothin. You?

* * *

The next morning, Ezra showed up wearing a beanie. It wasn't usual for him to wear one, but nobody really noticed because everyone was too buzzed with excitement over Ezra and Jen's date that night. Everyone except Trucker and Piper, that is. "What's going on with you guys today?" Piper asked as she and the rest of the staff waited for customers to start coming in. "You're all jittery and excited, and have been all morning." 

Tish spun around and fixed a look of surprise on Jen. "You didn't tell her?" she practically demanded. 

"Uh, no," Jen answered shyly and a bit afraid of her friend's wrath. "I was so excited last night that I didn't really think about telling anybody else. Wait, how do you know?" 

"I was at Priestly's house when Ez called him," explained Tish with a shrug. 

"What didn't Jen call me about?" Piper interjected impatiently. 

"She and Ez are going out tonight!" Tish cheered, throwing her arms around Jen. "I'm so excited for you!" 

"That's great!" Piper squealed as she slammed her friend into a hug. 

"What's great?" asked Trucker, just coming in from from the morning's surf. 

"Jen and Ezra are going out tonight," Piper and Tish announced together. 

"That's awesome, you two," Trucker smiled. "What time are you two going?" 

"We agreed on 6:30," answered Ezra. 

"Alright, that means we're closing at four today," the shop owner decided. "Will that give you girls plenty of time to get Jen ready?" 

"Guys, you really don't have to do that," Jen tried to protest. 

"Yeah," Ezra agreed, not really used to the attention. "We don't need all this." 

"Nonsense," Priestly chimed in. "You two deserve it. Trucker and I will even go with you back to your place, Zig." 

Ezra's eyes bugged out in slight shock. "Really, you guys don't have to go to so much trouble for me." 

"Ezra, we're coming over," Priestly informed his cousin with a pleasant smile that Ezra knew, all too well, not to argue with. It reminded the girls of the time Priestly insulted the jerk Tadd by smiling and batting his eyes. 

"Fine," the tall man relented. "If you insist so much, you can come with me." The day seemed to go by at a snail's pace for the BCG team. Everyone was excited about Ezra and Jen's date that night, especially Tish and Piper. And it was even more unbearable for them because they wanted to discuss clothes and hairstyles with Jen, but knew they couldn't because Ezra was in the room. 

But, finally, the last of the lunch rush left at around three. Trucker ran to flip the closed sign so they could quickly clean up and make preparations for their return later that night. 

The men and women went their separate ways at the front door of the shop. "Alright," Priestly began once Ezra let them into his apartment, "first things first. Ziggy, you go get a shower. You don't want to go on a first date smelling like the grill." 

"He's right," Trucker agreed, not taking any offense to the mohawked man's words about his business. 

Ezra rolled his eyes, but he complied with the order, secretly agreeing with them after taking a tentative sniff of his shirt. 

Now that he thought about it, Ezra was thankful Trucker had let him off two and a half hours early. He was going to need a while to get ready. 

While his cousin was in the shower, Priestly let himself into the bedroom closet to look through Ezra's clothes. "Alright, Zig said he and Jen are going to Mama Bella's, so nothing fancy," said Priestly as he perused the shirts handing before him. "I think one of the polos would be good enough." 

"Yeah, definitely," agreed Trucker. "Which one does Ezra like best?" 

"I know he likes the green one a lot." Priestly pulled a shamrock green polo shirt out of the closet and laid it out on the bed. 

"Does he even have any jeans that aren't ripped?" Trucker asked in amusement as he, too, sorted through his employee's clothes. Every pair of jeans in the drawers had some kind of hole, tear, or wear in them. 

"He keeps the nicer ones here in the closet so they don't wear out as quickly," answered Priestly. He selected a pair of dark wash jeans and laid them next to the shirt. "Once they start wearing in, he moves them to the drawers. 

"That makes sense," mused the older man. He shut the drawers and joined Priestly by the bed, where the younger man had made himself comfortable flipping through channels on his cousin's television. 

"What in the world is taking so long?" Priestly grumbled. Looking over at the clock, he saw that his cousin had been in the bathroom for nearly an hour and a half. "Ziggy never takes this long in the shower." He got up from the bed and went to rummage in his cousin's refrigerator. When he came back with two cans of soda and a bowl of popcorn, he was pleased to discover that the shower had finally shut off. "'Bout time, Zig." 

"I know you guys picked out something for me to wear," Ezra called out with slight impatience. "Hand me my jeans and some boxers, Bo." Priestly did as asked and passed the clothing through the cracked door. When the door opened a few minutes later, the older men were surprised to see Ezra walk out with his hair combed out, coming down just past the nape of his neck, and he'd shaved off his beard. 

"Oh wow," Priestly breathed when he saw his cousin. "No wonder you wore a hat today." 

A look of self-consciousness flashed over Ezra's face. "What? W-will Jen not like it?" he asked nervously. 

"No, no she'll love it," Priestly assured his worried cousin. "It's just been so long since I saw you without the dreads that I forgot what your normal hair looks like." The fear left Ezra's eyes, replaced with relief. "Why'd you decide to take out the dreads?" 

Ezra shrugged bashfully. "It's mine and Jen's first date," he explained softly. "I wanted to do something nice for her. So I started taking them out last night so it wouldn't take so long today." 

Pride filled not only Priestly, but Trucker as well. "I think you did good," the older man praised his employee. "Priestly's right. Jen's going to love your hair." 

"That time I wore my hair naturally to work, Jen couldn't keep her hands out of it," Priestly reminisced with a fond smile. He figured Tish would be the one to constantly touch or play with his hair, but, to his surprise, it had been Jen who obsessed over it. "She won't be able to resist your luscious locks." 

"Dude, shut up," Ezra laughed as he pulled on the green polo shirt his cousin had picked out. "Thanks for picking out my favorite shirt." 

Priestly shrugged nonchalantly. "I figured you'd want it. After all, it is your first date in how many years?" he teased with a smirk. 

The nerves hit Ezra again like a tidal wave. He shot his best friend a glare. "Seriously, Bo, not cool!" 

"Don't worry so much," Trucker chuckled good-naturedly. "Jen doesn't need anything fancy to impress her. She much prefers sincerity." 

"Yeah," Priestly piped up. "Just be yourself. I mean, she's already agreed to go out with you, right?" Ezra didn't say anything, but that was answer enough for Priestly. "So, you crazy kids go have fun and don't worry about anything." 

"Priestly's right, Ez," said Trucker. "I'm sure you'll both have a great time if you just be yourselves. Don't worry about trying to be impressive." 

Ezra took a steadying breath. "Okay," he sighed. "But what kind of flowers does she like? I'm still going to be a gentleman, even if I'm not trying to impress her." 

Priestly sniffled and mimed wiping a tear. "My little boy's all grown up," he cried playfully, earning a swat on the shoulder from Ezra. 

"Shut up, man," he admonished, but the smile on his face belied his words. 

"I'm not sure what Jen's favorite flowers are, because she likes a lot of different kinds," Trucker said thoughtfully. "But I know she likes blues, pinks, lighter colors like that. And she likes simple, nothing gaudy or complicated." 

"Okay, thanks." Looking at the clock, Ezra saw it was nearly a quarter to six. "I better get going if I don't want to be late." 

"Good luck," Priestly and Trucker chorused behind him as he snatched up his keys and hurried out of his apartment. 

Thankful that he'd been able to buy a pretty decent car, Ezra ducked inside and started it up, going down the road to a florist shop he'd seen when he and Jen were house hunting. He walked into the store and was hit with the smell of dozens of flowers. "Hello, there," a woman Ezra guessed to be in her late forties greeted. "What can I help you with today?" 

"I wanted to get a bouquet of flowers," Ezra told her, looking around helplessly at the blossoms arranged around the store. 

"What kind of bouquet?" the woman asked. "Do you have a specific flower in mind? Or maybe a flower combination?" 

"I really don't know flowers very well," Ezra let out a shaky smile. "I want something simple, but nice. Nothing too over the top." 

The florist thought for a moment, considering what her customer wanted and what she had in the store. "I've got some hydrangeas in store. Come with me." She rounded the counter and went toward the front of the store. "Hydrangeas are lovely flowers, and very underrated if you ask me. I have blue, pink, and purple." 

Ezra took in the flowers the woman had indicated and agreed that they were lovely indeed. "I like all three, actually," he admitted. 

"Alright, then," the florist said. She plucked a flower of each color and took them back to the counter. She arranged them in a way that made the different colors compliment each other, and it made Ezra glad that she'd recommended them. The finishing touch was a brown ribbon to fasten the bouquet together. "There we go." She held the bouquet up for Ezra to see. 

"That's great," he said. "The brown was the perfect touch." 

"Wonderful," the woman cheered. She set the flowers back down to ring up the price. "That'll be $15.40." After receiving the payment and returning his change, the florist picked the bouquet back up and handed it to her customer. "Good luck," she said kindly. 

"Thanks," Ezra said. "And thanks for this, too." As he walked back to his car, Ezra looked over the bouquet in his hands. The simple beauty of it really made him think of Jen, and he was very glad he'd listened to the florist. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Ezra started the car. "On to Jen's."

* * *

A/N: I don't know for sure how long it would take to remove dreadlocks since I don't wear them, but all the research I've done tells me that it takes HOURS to unravel them, even if they're short. Hopefully I did okay in making it realistic. And the underrated hydrangea comment is from my sister's friend. She's a quirky thing. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Greetings and salutations, my loves! No, you're not losing track of your days this week. It is, in fact, Wednesday. I'm just posting this early because my weekend is going to be SLAMMED starting tomorrow, and I knew I would really only have time to think about posting this chapter. So I decided to go ahead and give it to you. It was a good choice, wasn't it?

Disclaimer: I don't like weddings!

* * *

When Ezra knocked on the door of Jen's apartment, he heard voices clamoring over one another. It brought a smirk to his face to imagine the girls scrambling to finish getting Jen ready for the date, and he stifled a chuckle. 

He heard footsteps approaching the door and wondered if it would be Jen answering the door or one of the other girls. He wasn't sure which he was hoping for. But Ezra's breath was stolen away when the door opened to reveal Jen. Her hair was out of its usual ponytail and framed her face prettily, and she'd added a little more makeup than she usually wore. Just a bit of eyeliner and eyeshadow enhanced her already beautiful eyes, and a little gloss made her lips shine. In a word, she was gorgeous. 

Jen's own eyes widened when she took in Ezra's appearance. "You took out your dreadlocks!" she exclaimed in surprise. 

"He did what?!" two voices shrieked from further in the apartment, and the couple saw Piper and Tish running over each other to get out into the open. "Oh my gosh! You look so different!" yelled Piper. 

"How did we not know you were this hot?" Tish demanded. "Why didn't Priestly ever mention that you were this hot? We've known you for a month and a half now, and he never said a word." 

"Seriously, guys?" Jen asked, slightly annoyed at her friends' interruption, but way more amused by their reaction to Ezra's new look. 

The other girls seemed to realize that they'd intruded on a moment and started backing out of the room. "Sorry, we'll get out of your hair now," said Tish. Then she realized what she said. "Wait, I mean we'll-" 

"We'll just leave," Piper cut in. She shoved Tish toward the kitchen before disappearing herself, leaving the couple to themselves. 

"You took out your dreadlocks," Jen repeated, though much more calmly this time. "And you shaved." 

A blush rose on Ezra's cheeks when Tish and Piper freaked out over him, but it just intensified under Jen's appraising eyes. "Y-yeah," he stammered nervously. "I thought I'd do something special for tonight." 

"I don't want you to feel like you have to change your appearance for me," Jen said worriedly. "I'm not concerned about looks." 

"That's not it," Ezra assured her. "I promise, that's not what this is. The dreads are going back in tomorrow." They both chuckled at his frankness. "I just wanted to look nice for tonight. Give you a proper first date." 

A blush crept onto Jen's face as well, and she gave him a shy smile. "Well, you've done very well so far," she said, indicating the flowers in her hand. "So, shall we go?" 

"Yeah, let's go." After Jen called out a goodbye to the other girls, they walked out the door and down to the car. 

The drive to the restaurant was very pleasant, with easy conversation flowing between Jen's directions. They were relieved to find that the restaurant wasn't very busy that night, so they were seated right away. 

"Alright," Ezra mused aloud as they looked over the menu, "what would you like to eat tonight?" 

"They have this really good pizza that they make completely from scratch," Jen told him enthusiastically. "It's delicious. I get it every time I come here." When she didn't hear a response, Jen looked up at her date to see an amused grin on his face. "Or we could get something a little nicer than pizza," she said dejectedly, feeling embarrassed. 

"No, we can get pizza," Ezra told her quickly, trying to assuage her fears. "I happen to love pizza." 

Jen laughed softly, relieved that she hadn't made herself look like an idiot on their first date. "Trucker and Bo gave me some really good advice earlier," Ezra continued. "They told me to just be myself, and to not try to be impressive. Because if I try to be impressive, I'm not really being myself, and myself is who you agreed to go out with, right?" Jen chuckled at his wording and nodded her agreement. "So I want you to do the same. Don't worry about trying to impress me. You already did that just by being you." 

A soft warmth filled Jen's heart at Ezra's words. It wasn't often that people liked her for who she really was, and she found she rather liked it. "Okay, then," she agreed. "So we're not going to try to be impressive." 

"Nope. We're just going to be ourselves and enjoy our date." The couple shared a smile, then the server came to take their order. 

The two found dinner to be very enjoyable. Jen wasn't exaggerating about the pizza; it really was the best pizza Ezra had ever eaten. "Can I take another pizza home with me?" he asked, only half joking. "I'm sorry, Jen, but I may have to leave you for this pizza." 

"It's okay," Jen went along with the humor. "I've already cheated on you with the pizza, so I won't hold it against you." Their laughter drew other people's eyes on more than one occasion, but neither could find it in themselves to care. 

"How was everything?" their waitress asked after they'd finished off the pizza. 

"It was fantastic," Ezra said enthusiastically. 

"Great. Would you guys like to finish your meal with some dessert?" The young woman held out two smaller menus for them to take. 

"Oh, no thank you," Jen started to decline politely, but she was interrupted by her date. 

"Why not?" Ezra asked. "We should get some dessert. They've got some good sounding stuff on here." 

"I don't need dessert," Jen said shyly. She didn't want to say it in front of the waitress, but the real reason for Jen's hesitation was the price. Ezra had already insisted on paying for their dinner like a gentleman, but Jen didn't want to take advantage of his generosity. 

"Well, I say we should," Ezra argued. "Dessert is the most important meal of the day." 

Jen snorted a laugh. "Why does that sound like something Priestly would say?" 

"Because he got it from me." The couple continued to chuckle at the silliness of both of Ezra's statement. "Seriously, though, Jen. How about we get some dessert?" 

Seeing the honest offer in Ezra's eyes finally convinced Jen to change her mind. "Okay, fine." She pretended to by annoyed, but her smile gave her away. 

"Alright, what would you guys like?" asked the waitress. 

Ezra let Jen order for the both of them, knowing that she was more familiar with what was on the menu. He also wanted her to feel comfortable saying what she wanted. And he told her as much as soon as the waitress was gone. "You know, it's okay to say what you want around me, Jen." 

A blush appeared on Jen's cheeks. "I-I know," she stammered. "But you were already paying for dinner, and you bought me those beautiful flowers, and I didn't want to seem like the kind of girl who expects a guy to always go all out for a date." 

"I know you're not that kind of girl," Ezra assured her. He reached across the table to take her hand. "I know how kind and giving you are. I would never think of you as selfish. But it is okay to have high expectations of a guy. Otherwise you'd be getting dates from losers and jerks. And," he emphasized, making sure she met his eyes, "it's okay to be just a little selfish. Don't give so much of yourself that you can't enjoy your own life. Don't be afraid to ask me for things, okay?" 

"Okay," Jen agreed. She was thankful to have such a caring friend in her life, someone that she hoped would be more than a friend. 

Dessert was just as pleasant as dinner had been, and the couple enjoyed it immensely. When they got back outside to the car, an idea came to Ezra. "You want to go walk on the beach a while?" he asked. 

"Yeah, I'd love to," Jen accepted. It was a short drive to the beach, and the pair left their shoes in the car in favor of walking barefoot in the sand. 

The deserted beach was peaceful, with the moonlight shining off the surface of the water beautifully. Walking side by side, Ezra felt Jen's shoulder brush his arm, and that touch had him reaching out to take her hand. 

When Jen felt Ezra's hand touch hers, she felt a blush redden her cheeks. Deciding to be bold, she turned her hand and interlace her fingers with his. They walked together hand in hand, enjoying each other's company and conversing pleasantly. 

But the night had to come to an end, and they drove back to Jen's apartment. When they got to her door, they paused, neither knowing quite what to say. "I had a really good time," Jen said, feeling a little awkward. 

"I did, too," Ezra agreed. Silence fell over the pair again as they searched for something else to say. "I guess I'll see you at work tomorrow," Ezra said. 

"Yeah," Jen stammered. "I'll see you tomorrow." Ezra's eyes seemed to bore into her for a moment, and he leaned toward her. Very gently, he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek. When he straightened, he gave her a warm smile. 

"Goodnight, Jen," he said as he let go of her hand. 

"Goodnight," Jen repeated. She turned to open her door, but something compelled her to look back at Ezra. When she did, she caught him turning around to give her a wave and one last smile. Jen closed and locked the door behind her, leaning back against it as an enormous smile graced her lips. 

When he got to his car, Ezra leaned forward against the steering wheel, thoughts of the night replaying in his head. He couldn't help the huge smile that lit up his face as he sat back into his seat. "We're so doing that again," he decided as he drove away happily.

* * *

A/N: Now I'm jealous of Jen. Who else is with me? Thank you guys for joining me once again. I look forward to seeing all of you again next week. Oh, by the way, I've got several story ideas rolling around in my brain that I can't really do anything with for various reasons, so if anybody wants a new story idea, go look at my profile. I'll have a very basic summary of the idea, and if you like one, send me a PM and we can talk more about them. Don't forget to review. I love reviews!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: With all the trouble this storm's been causing, I almost forgot to post this chapter. Good thing I didn't! And now everyone gets to read what is probably my favorite chapter so far. Happy reading!

Disclaimer: Rainstorms are so fun! Especially when I don't have to worry about any lightning or thunder.

* * *

The next morning, everyone at Beach City Grill was buzzing with excitement and curiosity. They all were dying to know how Ezra and Jen's date went, and they couldn't wait until the two showed up to give them details. 

Finally, just as they were about to open up for the day, the two entered the shop. "'Bout time!" Priestly yelled to his cousin and his friend. "What took you so long? I had to be on time for once just so I could talk to you!" 

Without giving either person a chance to respond, Piper and Tish whisked Jen away to the back office, and Priestly and Trucker shoved Ezra into a booth, joining him seconds later. "Okay, Zig," said Priestly. "Spill." 

"We want to hear how everything went last night," Trucker added enthusiastically. 

"Give us every detail," Tish demanded of Jen. "Leave out nothing." 

Jen blushed under the interrogation, but she didn't back down. "We went to dinner at Mama Bella's," she started slowly. It didn't take long for a smile to join the blush on her cheeks. "We got that pizza that I like there. He joked about leaving me for the pizza." 

"He better not be leaving you for anything," Tish threatened playfully. 

"Well, I told him that I'd already cheated on him with with the pizza," Jen chuckled, "so it all worked out in the end." 

"What else did he do?" asked Piper. 

A look of surprised flashed on Ezra's face. "But what about opening up?" he asked. 

"It can wait," Trucker dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Lucille and Mr. Julius will understand." 

"And if they get impatient, we'll let them in and they can join the conversation," said Priestly. "So there's no backing out." 

Ezra rolled his eyes and sighed in resignation. "Okay, fine. I'll tell you. You know we went out to eat. I paid for dinner." 

"And dessert?" Priestly cut in. 

"Please, Bo," Ezra scoffed. "When have you ever known me to pass up dessert?" 

Priestly held his hands up disarmingly. "Okay, okay. Don't kill me. I was just wondering." Trucker and Ezra both laughed as the mohawked man put his hands back on the table. 

"For the record," continued Ezra, "yes, I bought dessert. And because I know you're going to ask, I did buy flowers also. I got her a small bouquet of hydrangeas." 

"Nice," Trucker praised approvingly. "Nice and simple. Good choice." 

"We went to the restaurant, joked about cheating on each other with the pizza we had." 

"That is some good pizza," Priestly admitted. 

"Right!" Ezra exclaimed. "That was, by far, the best pizza I've ever had. Anyway, after we finished dinner, I convinced Jen to let me buy dessert. She didn't want to at first, since I'd already said I was paying, but I told her not to be afraid to ask me for things like that, and that it's okay to have high expectations of a guy." 

"After that, we walked on the beach for a while," said Jen, a blush on her cheeks accompanying the bashful smile on her face at the memory of the night. 

"Did he hold your hand?" asked Tish. Jen's shy grin was answer enough. "That's so romantic!" Tish and Piper swooned together. By now, they were huddled together, hands clasped as they listened to their friend recount her date. 

"Then we went back to my apartment. Ezra kissed me-" 

"He kissed you?" Piper shouted, cutting Jen off. 

"On the cheek," Jen finished. Piper deflated a little, but didn't say anything else. "Then we wished each other goodnight, and he went home." 

"That sounds like an awesome first date," said Tish with approval. "You gonna go out for a second date?" 

Jen didn't answer right away, taking time to think about how to answer. "I definitely want to," she said slowly. "But I don't know if I should wait for him to ask me or if I should just ask him myself." 

"I mean," Ezra mumbled, "she hasn't really said anything about wanting to go out again. She had fun last night, I could tell, and I really enjoyed it. So should I ask her out again or wait for her to ask me?" 

"Try to gauge his mood and frame of mind today," Tish counseled. "If he seems to be in a good mood, then I'd say ask him." 

"If you ask me, I'd say he's pretty darn happy this morning," Piper added. 

"So I should just go for it like I did last time," Ezra said again, just to make sure he knew what his friends were telling him. 

"Yes, Ziggy," sighed Priestly. "If she was as happy about last night as you say she looked, then she'll definitely say yes." 

"Trust us, Ezra," Trucker assured the younger man. "We know Jen. She'll say yes." 

Taking a deep breath, Ezra squared his shoulders in determination. "Okay," he decided. "I'll ask her sometime today." 

"Atta boy," Priestly clapped his cousin on the shoulder. "You go get her, tiger." 

"Go get'im, girl," said Tish and Piper encouragingly. "You can do it." 

"Alright, alright," Jen relented with a grin. "I'll do it today." 

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Trucker turned around to see Mr. Julius and Lucille, punctual as ever. "Okay," said Trucker, "time to open." 

The men got up from the booth, Trucker to open the door for the customers, and Ezra and Priestly to the grill. "Hey," Priestly called to the girls in the back, "time to open." 

"Coming," called Tish. "Remember," she turned to Jen one last time, "you can do it." 

Jen nodded and the girls filed out of the office back to the main room. As Jen passed Ezra on her way to her seat at the computer, her eyes met his, and neither could stop the smile that lifted the corners of their lips. 

As the day progressed, neither Ezra nor Jen could find a good enough time to ask the other out for a second date. But when the last customers of the night finally left the sub shop and Trucker flipped the open sign to closed, they both found a moment during clean up that they thought just right. 

"Hey, Jen," said Ezra at the same time that Jen called his name. "You go first," he offered with a nervous chuckle. 

"No, you go ahead," Jen insisted. 

"Um, well," he hedged shyly. "I was wondering if, uh, if you'd like to take another walk on the beach tonight before going home." 

"Yeah, I'd like that very much," Jen accepted. "Um, I was also wondering if-" 

"Okay," Priestly called out, drawing everyone's attention. "I'm all done, so I'm heading out." 

"Yeah, same here," said Tish. Both of them took off their aprons and walked hand in hand out the door, throwing a goodnight over their shoulders. Ezra wasn't positive, but he could swear he saw his cousin send him a quick wink on his way out. 

"Hey, why don't you guys go ahead on out as well?" offered Piper. "All that's really left to do is sweep the floor, and I can have that done in just a few minutes." 

"You sure?" Jen asked. "You're still finishing with the dishes, and I'm almost done with the till." 

"Yeah, I'm sure." Piper gave them a smile as she dried a plate. "Go on, get outta here." 

"But-" Jen started to protest, but Trucker spoke before she could complete her thought. 

"Yes, she's sure," the older man repeated with fake exasperation. "Get going before I fire you." 

Ezra and Jen knew good and well that Trucker wouldn't fire either of them, but they complied nonetheless. "See you guys tomorrow," said Ezra as he threw the rag he was using to clean the counter into the clothes basket under the counter. 

"Goodnight," wished Jen as she headed toward the door. Ezra held it open and let Jen exit before him, oblivious to the knowing grin and smile of approval being thrown his way. 

Because the beach was just a short walk away from the grill, Ezra didn't bother driving himself and Jen. Just like the night before, the walk was pleasant and enjoyable. They were able to talk about pretty much anything that came to mind, and when they had nothing else to talk about, they just walked along in companionable silence. 

A good ways down from the grill was a beachside bar, and the music playing inside could be heard down by the water. Jen stopped to listen to the music, a smile coming on her face when she recognized the song. "I love this song," she said dreamily. 

"I recognize Paul McCartney's voice," said Ezra, "but I don't know the song." 

"It's 'This Never Happened Before,'" Jen informed him. Her eyes closed as she began to hum and sway along with the music. 

A brilliant idea occurred to Ezra as he watched Jen enjoy the song. It was an idea that he just could not resist. "May I have this dance?" he requested, holding out his hand to a surprised Jen. 

Jen blushed, but she nodded. Ezra stepped closer to her and took her hand, bringing his other arm up to her hip. "I didn't know you could dance," commented Jen as Ezra began leading her into a slow dance. 

"I'm a man of many talents," he quipped lightly, eliciting a laugh from Jen. The song continued to play, enveloping the couple in a musical cocoon, their own little world. 

Jen rested her head against Ezra's chest, loving the feeling of his arms around her. She felt safe and loved. "Jen," Ezra's gentle voice spoke softly. She hummed a response and looked up. Ezra took a deep breath and met her questioning gaze. "Will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?" 

Tears welled in Jen's eyes as she gave him a beaming smile. "Yes," she whispered, unable to speak anymore loudly than that. "Yes, I will." Neither of them noticed that they had stopped dancing, too wrapped up in each other to care. Ezra's hands moved to cup Jen's face, his thumbs brushing her cheeks. Leaning into each other, their lips met in the best kiss of their lives.

* * *

A/N: If you guys haven't heard the song This Never Happened Before, I highly recommend you look it up. It's such a beautiful song, and it was just perfect for this chapter. I tried to do that thing tv shows and movies do where they'll switch points of view between two people telling the same story when Ezra and Jen were talking about their date. I don't really know how well I did, and I hope it doesn't confuse anybody. Thanks for reading, guys. Don't forget to review!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hello, my friends! I hope everyone is well this fine day. I hope everyone that got affected by hurricane Matthew is getting back on their feet. No matter how weak a hurricane may be, a hurricane is still a hurricane. This was a fun chapter to write, so I hope everybody enjoys it. 

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are technically purple. Where did blue come from?

* * *

Life was great right now for Ezra and Jen. As soon as the two of them walked into the grill the morning after their kiss, everyone knew that they were officially together. It irked Ezra a little that he was so transparent, especially to his cousin, but he shook it off and counted it a blessing that they loved him enough to learn so much about him. 

Ezra was also pleased that he'd gotten started on the baby's room, even if all he'd been able to accomplish was buying a crib. He'd found a beautiful antique hardwood crib that some moron was selling for thirty bucks. The man obviously had no sense of value, but his loss was Ezra's gain. Jen found herself looking at baby stuff whenever she was at a store, imagining the things she could buy for her boyfriend and his soon to come baby. That line of thinking always led to all the other supplies Ezra would have to buy. Just looking at little things at the grocery store told Jen that providing for this baby was going to be an expensive endeavor. So one afternoon that Ezra wasn't working, Jen started scheming. 

"Okay, you guys," she called everyone over once all their customers had been served. "Ezra needs to get stuff for the baby. He's leaving at the beginning of July to go back to Jamaica so he can be there when it's born, and it's already May." 

"We should be able to help him out, right?" Tish asked. "We're his friends, guys. We've got to do something." 

"I know I've picked up a few things for the kid," Priestly piped up, "but it's just some bottles and a couple baby toys." 

"That's why I was thinking," Jen trailed off, taking in everyone's expectant faces. They were all leaning toward her over the counter, waiting to hear her idea. "We should throw him a baby shower." 

"I love it!" Piper screeched. "This is going to be so much fun." 

"Good idea, Jen," Trucker agreed. 

"And, this way, we know that Ziggy'll actually take the stuff we buy him," added Priestly. "He's not too proud to ask for help if he needs it, but Zig won't do anything if he thinks it might be an inconvenience to somebody else. So he won't ask for help in buying stuff." 

"But he will take gifts?" Jen asked. Priestly confirmed with a nod. "Alright, then. Let's do it." 

"What if we decorate the baby's room for him, too?" suggested Piper. "I could paint something on the walls. Granted, it would take a few days, depending on what I paint. Do you think he'd like that?" 

"I can guarantee he'd love it," said Priestly. "So when are we gonna do this?" 

"We could have the shower here," offered Trucker. "One day once the lunch rush is over and everything settles down, we can surprise him with it." 

"That'd be fun," said Tish. "And he certainly wouldn't expect it." 

"This is going to be so much fun!" Piper squealed in excitement. "I can take Julia shopping with me. She'd love that." Just then, a customer came in, so conversation had to be put on hold for the time being. 

"Hey, Piper," Priestly spoke up a little while later. The younger girl looked up at the man who'd addressed her. "How about painting the baby's room after Zig goes back to Jamaica? He'll be gone for a good while, which would give you plenty of time to get the room done before he gets back." 

"I like that idea," agreed Piper. "That way, I'll also have plenty of time to gather the supplies I'll need." 

"I'll help you buy the stuff," Priestly promised. "I know it gets expensive, so I'll pitch in. Just tell me what you need." 

"Okay, cool." Piper gave her friend a smile. "Or how about this? When I get the design planned out, we'll go supply shopping together. That way we can just get everything in one trip." 

"Sounds good to me," said Priestly. 

A couple weeks passed since the grill employees conspired to throw a baby shower for the soon-to-be father. During those weeks, everybody bought baby things to give Ezra. They even let Noah and Julia, and Mr. Julius and Lucille in on the party, and they all contributed as well. 

Tish recommended they spring the shower on a Ezra on a Saturday so Julia and Noah would be able to join in on the festivities. Smuggling presents into the grill wasn't the easiest thing to do without drawing Ezra's attention. But they devised a plan to leave the wrapped presents in the Causemobile, and at the end of each night, Trucker would bring them inside and hide them in the back office. And the whole time, Ezra was completely oblivious. 

So when Noah and Julia showed up for lunch one Saturday afternoon, he didn't think a thing of it. "Hey, guys," Ezra greeted with a friendly smile, "how's it going?" 

"It's all good," answered Noah. 

"What can I get you guys to eat?" After taking the Millers' order and cooking it for them, Ezra settled on Jen's stool to check on any to go orders that had been sent in. Because his back was turned, he didn't see all his friends sneaking up behind him with a bunch of presents in their arms. 

"Surprise!" everyone yelled at once, nearly making Ezra fall off the stool. 

A look of confused shock took over Ezra's face as he saw all the colorful gifts his friends were holding. "What's all this?" he asked. He looked back toward the dining area, only to see Noah and Julia holding up a banner declaring "It's A Baby!" 

"This is a baby shower for the daddy-to-be," Tish answered. She dropped her armload onto the counter, as did everyone else, and pulled Ezra around to the front of the counter. After his girlfriend seated Ezra on one of the barstools, Priestly came up behind him and put a party hat on his head, barely balancing it on the thick dreadlocks. 

"You guys threw me a baby shower?" Ezra asked, awestruck. 

"We figured it'd be easier for you to get baby supplies that way," explained Piper. 

"It was all Jen's idea," Priestly added, nudging the now red-faced blonde. 

Ezra turned tear-filled eyes to his girlfriend. "Really?" he asked in a tiny voice. Face still flushed, Jen gave Ezra a shy smile and nodded her head. Ezra couldn't say anything. He knew if he tried, he would just burst into tears. So he expressed how touched he was in the next best way. Grabbing her hand, Ezra pulled Jen into his arms and kissed her soundly on the mouth. The rest of the room erupted in cheers and applause as the couple continued their kiss. 

Finally, though, Jen and Ezra pulled away from each other. "Alright," said Trucker, bringing everyone back to the present. "Time to open presents." 

As Ezra was given his first present, he watched Noah and Julia attach the banner to the wall under the mural. "It's a baby?" he questioned in amusement. 

Piper shrugged shamelessly. "Well, we don't know if the kid's a boy or a girl, so I went with the obvious." Ezra just shook his head as he laughed. 

"I helped her paint it for you and the baby," Julia spoke up proudly. Noah dropped a hand on his daughter's shoulder. 

"Thanks, Julia." Ezra brought the little girl in for a hug. "I love it." 

"Alright, Zig, open your present," Priestly urged. 

"Who's it from?" Ezra asked, looking over the package for a tag. 

"Just go ahead and open it," said Tish. "We'll figure it out when we see what it is." 

Figuring there wasn't really another option, Ezra shrugged and started ripping at the wrapping paper. The second he saw what was inside it, though, he knew exactly who the gift was from. "Really, Bo?" he demanded, holding up the bottle of Jack Daniel's. "You bought me whiskey?" 

The entire room burst into laughter as Priestly just shrugged. "What? You never know when it might come in handy. That stuff can make a pretty potent cough medicine." 

"I will pour this on your head," Ezra threatened playfully, unable to keep the smile away completely. 

"Okay, seriously, guys," Jen chuckled. "Someone give him a real present."

* * *

A/N: Actually, whiskey is used frequently to make home-remedy cough syrup, especially in the south. Just mix a little of it with some tea, or coke as my cousin did once, and you got yourself an instant cold medicine. I couldn't resist making Priestly give Ezra some. Don't forget to review!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I almost forgot to post this chapter today. I went to a Celtic Thunder concert in Jacksonville last night and oh my gosh! It was amazing! Especially the after-concert meet and greet. I got pictures and won a pair of Celtic Thunder sunglasses in a 20 Questions game! It was so awesome. And I didn't get back home until almost one in the morning. So yeah, I'm dragging a little bit today. But I still remembered the chapter!

Disclaimer: I hugged Damian McGinty! And he gave me hints to win the sunglasses!

* * *

"Hey, Piper," Priestly called softly while Ezra was out of the room answering a phone call. "You got the design all planned out for the baby's room?" 

"Yeah," the artist whispered back. "And I've already gotten started on supplies. Paint won't be difficult to get since I already have a ton of that. All I'd really need to get is the primer and base color. I have pretty much everything else." 

"Let's go to the art store tomorrow morning and get that," suggested Priestly. "That way you'll already have it when Ziggy heads back to Jamaica." 

"Alright, sounds good," Piper agreed. Just then, Ezra came running back from the office, looking anxious. "Whoa, Ez, you okay?" 

"What's going on?" asked Priestly. 

"I just got a call from my buddy Josh," Ezra began. "He's also part of the team helping take care of Aaliyah. He said that those Braxton Hicks things, whatever they are, have gotten stronger, and the midwife says she could go into labor any day. So I've gotta go back to Jamaica a little sooner than planned." 

"Oh wow," the other two gasped as Tish's jaw dropped. "Have you already booked your flight?" asked Priestly. 

Ezra shook his head. "Not yet. I was thinking I wouldn't need to leave until the first week of July, not the third week of June." 

"Yeah, babies do that," Piper commented knowingly. 

"So I was wondering, Bo," Ezra paused nervously. "Um, would you go back to Jamaica with me?" 

"Absolutely," Priestly agreed. Ezra sighed in relief. "When you planning on leaving?" 

"I was going to book the earliest flight as soon as I got home tonight," said Ezra. 

"Well, maybe when Jen gets back from the supply run, she can help you look online. Jen's good with computers, so she'd probably be able to find a good deal." 

"A good deal on what?" Jen interrupted Priestly as the door shut behind her. 

"I have to go back to Jamaica a little earlier than planned," Ezra explained again. "We think the baby might be coming sooner than expected." 

"Oh wow. Yeah, of course I'll help you find a flight," Jen agreed. 

"And, Jen." Ezra caught her arm as she was rounding the counter to her seat at the computer. "I already asked Bo, and he agreed. But will you come with us? I know I'm gonna be a wreck, even with Bo there to help me keep it together." 

"Yeah, of course I will," Jen promised. She put a hand on her boyfriend's cheek to help him calm down. "Everything's fine, Ez. Take a deep breath." Ezra did as told and let it back out slowly. "We still have a little time before the baby's born, so don't start freaking out just yet." 

"Right," breathed Ezra. "You do have a passport, right?" 

"Yeah, I got one when I took a trip to England with my family." 

"Okay, good. And I know you have one, Bo." 

"Yep, from that trip we took to Mexico," Priestly remembered. 

"What's going on?" asked Trucker as he came in from a morning of surfing. 

"Ezra's baby's coming a little earlier than expected," Piper explained. 

"Is that even normal?" Ezra asked nervously. "I mean, everyone was guessing the baby would be here around mid July. That's still two weeks away. Is that even safe?" 

"Zig, calm down," Priestly tried to reassure his cousin. "I'm sure the baby'll be just fine. And you said yourself that this isn't an exact science and that mid July was just a guess." 

"Yeah, I know I said that," said Ezra. "But that was before I found out that my baby would be coming two weeks early. Will he be okay, or will there be some kind of birth defects or something because he came early?" 

"Ezra," Tish said calmly. 

"And if he does end up having some kind of problems from being born early, what if I don't know how to take care of him?" Ezra continued, not realizing Tish had spoken. "I'd have to do research, and there'd be doctors and medical bills and all kinds of other things." 

"Ezra," Tish repeated. Her tone wasn't quite as calm as before. 

"I might even have to get another job to help pay for bills and medicine and treatments. What if I can't afford that kind of thing?" By now, Ezra wasn't ranting anymore. He was in a full blown panic and was starting to hyperventilate. "How am I supposed to do all this by myself?" 

Ezra's ramblings were interrupted by a resounding smack, which rang out as the rest of the room fell silent. All eyes shot to find the source of the slap and saw a determined Tish standing in front of a stunned Ezra, who had a red handprint blooming across his cheek. 

"Feel better now?" asked Tish, once again calm and relaxed as she'd been before Ezra started his rant. 

"Y-yeah," stammered Ezra. He brought a hand to his stinging cheek as he came back to reality. "Thanks." 

Tish beamed at her boyfriend's cousin, pleased with herself. "Anytime." It took a couple minutes for everyone to process what had happened. Priestly was the first one to recover. 

"Remember what you said when you first told me about the baby?" the colorful man asked his dreadlocked cousin. "You said you came here to Santa Cruz because you knew you'd need my help with the baby once it's born. Right?" Ezra nodded, barely meeting the older man's eyes. "And I said I'd be there to help out with my new niece or nephew? Well that also goes for everyone else in here as well." Tentatively, Ezra looked around at all the faces around him. Every one of them was smiling. "We all care about you, man." 

Tears stung Ezra's eyes. "Thanks, guys," he whispered, voice choked. "That means a lot." 

"Anytime, Ez," said Piper. "And if it makes you feel any better, my daughter was born three weeks early, and she turned out fine." 

"Really?" asked Ezra hopefully. 

"Yep," Piper nodded. 

"I was born almost four weeks early," added Tish. 

"You've got nothing to worry about, Ez," Jen assured him. 

"And even if you did, you'd have all of us here to back you up," Priestly promised his cousin. "So calm down and get on that computer with Jen and buy our tickets." 

It took a little while to find the right flight for the three of them and figure out how long they should stay in Jamaica after the baby was born. Ezra volunteered to pay for all three flights using the fund he'd set up years ago to pay for his mission trips. Jen tried to pay for her own flight, but Ezra insisted since that's what the money was meant for anyway. 

Piper suggested they stay for three weeks. That way, the baby would have time to get to know Ezra until he was old enough to travel. Jen was able to get three seats on the soonest flight, which was two days away. That gave the three of them plenty of time to pack their bags. 

As he was packing, Priestly pulled a key off his key chain and handed it to Tish. "Here's my key to Ziggy's apartment," he told her. Then, he took a wad of cash out of his wallet. "And give this to Piper to buy stuff to decorate the nursery. Since I won't be here to go to the store with her, just give her this. It's $100. Hopefully, it'll be enough." 

"It'll get a lot, for sure," Tish agreed. She tucked the key and money in her pocket. "I'm gonna miss you." 

Priestly looked up and gave his girlfriend a tender smile. "You'll barely even notice I'm gone," he said as he pulled her close. Their lips met in a kiss, both of them savoring the presence of the other before their soon coming separation. 

"Well, don't worry about anything here," Tish said as they parted. "I'll take care of both your places. And Piper said she'd take care of Jen's place. You and Jen just focus on keeping Ezra sane." 

"Jen and I have the easy job," Priestly pointed out. "Zig's the one that's getting his life turned upside down." 

"That's why I said you need to keep him sane," Tish said with a roll of her eyes. "Just make sure you bring him back in one piece." 

"Yes, ma'am." Priestly gave his girlfriend one more kiss. "I love you, Tish." 

"I love you, too, Priestly. Now, get going. Bring me back my niece." 

"Or nephew," laughed Priestly as he walked out the door.

* * *

A/N: Poor Ezra nearly had a fit. Don't forget to leave me a review. Reviews are love!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Good day, my lovelies! Exciting chapter today! I hope you guys like it. 

Disclaimer: I'm actually not all that familiar with Jamaican speech. I did my best.

* * *

The flight was calm, for the most part. At least, Priestly thought it was. He fell asleep shortly after the plane took off, leaving Jen to deal with her anxious boyfriend. Jen vowed that she would be the one to sleep on the flight back so Priestly could deal with the new father and the new baby. "It's so much better than revenge," she claimed.

After landing, Ezra spotted a jeep parked near the airport door, and he led his cousin and girlfriend to the man leaning against it. "Hey, Josh," he called.

Josh had dark hair, nearly black, and his skin was dark from days and weeks of sun exposure. A bright smile beamed under his aviator sunglasses. "Hey, Ez!" he hollered with a hand raised in greeting.

"Good to see you, man," said Ezra as he pulled his friend into a hug. "How's Aaliyah doing?"

"She hasn't gone into labor yet," Josh reported. Priestly loaded their bags into the jeep so his cousin could talk to his friend. "But again, Mina said she could go any day now."

"Well, we plan to stay for at least a few weeks. A friend of ours suggested we stay about two weeks after the baby's born, so that's our plan. I guess we'll just buy return tickets when we decide to go back." Ezra glanced beside him at his cousin and girlfriend. "Bo, Jen, this is Josh. He's the one that called me about the baby the other day. Josh, this is my cousin and best friend Priestly." The two shook hands. "And this is my beautiful girlfriend Jen."

"Good job, Jen," Josh teased lightly. "You're the first girl I've ever actually known Ezra to date." The quip had its desired effect, and both Jen and Ezra blushed.

"Zig even took his dreads out for their first date," added Priestly. He could never pass up an opportunity to tease his cousin.

"And I've never even seen him without the dreads!" gasped Josh.

As the others laughed at his expense, Ezra just rolled his eyes. "Okay, if we're quite finished, I've got a girl and a baby to see after." The three loaded up in the jeep and Josh drove out toward the less populated areas of the island.

Upon arrival, Ezra jumped out of the jeep and ran into the house that had been his home several months ago. There were a couple women milling about in the kitchen, to whom Ezra sent a quick greeting. When he reached his destination, he calmed himself down before quietly opening the door.

Lying on the small bed was Aaliyah Thomas. She looked to be asleep, but Ezra could see that her breathing wasn't as deep and steady as it would be in sleep. So he quietly approached the bed. "Hey, Aaliyah," he said softly, not wanting to scare the resting teen. He sat down next to her on the bed.

Aaliyah's eyes opened slowly, and it took a minute for her to recognize Ezra. "Ezra," she hummed happily. She held a hand out to him. "Where ya been? We been missin' ya."

"I had to go set up a home to take care of Squirt," he told her. "How are you and Squirt doing?"

"We doin' good. You tell Squirt hello?" Aaliyah took Ezra's hand and pressed it to her rounded abdomen. "Squirt, it be ya daddy."

Ezra couldn't keep a smile of wonder off his face as he felt his child moving under his hand. "Hey, Squirt. I'm your daddy. I can't wait to meet you." All conversation fell away as Ezra sat and relished the feeling of his baby squirming and kicking his hand. It was one of the most amazing things he'd ever experienced, and he was anxious to meet his little one in person.

As Aaliyah had fallen asleep, Ezra decided to join his family in the living room. It was with great reluctance that he pulled his hand away from the baby, and he had to look back one more time at the teenager who had given him such a blessing.

When he got to the living room, Ezra found Jen, Priestly, and Josh sorting out their sleeping arrangements. "Really, I can sleep on the couch," Josh offered. "There are only four beds in the house. Aaliyah has her own bed, of course, and Cameron and Mina can share the big bed again."

"Bo and I can share a bed," Ezra added. Priestly nodded his agreement. "That would give Jen the last bed."

"That works for me," said Jen, "though I really don't like the idea of putting you out on the couch."

Josh just shrugged his shoulders and waved his hand dismissively. "Won't be the first time I've slept on the couch. It's actually much more comfortable than it looks."

"And sorry, Bo," Exra turned to his cousin, "but shower use is kinda limited out here, so you probably won't be able to keep dying your hair while we're here." A pout scrunched Priestly's face, but he didn't comment. The other women in the house came out of the kitchen, and their movement caught Ezra's eye. "Oh, have you guys met Cameron and Mina?" The women, identical twins with long red hair, gave a friendly wave to the newcomers. "They're sisters. Cameron was originally on the mission team along with the rest of us, but when we met Aaliyah, she brought Mina, who's a midwife, with her to take care of Aaliyah during her pregnancy."

"Nice to meet you guys," said Cameron. Mina nodded her agreement as they sat down on the couch, joining the rest of the group.

The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. Ezra spent a lot of time with Aaliyah, talking to the baby so he or she would know Ezra's voice. It took a lot of persuading from Priestly and Jen to pull Ezra away from the younger girl and send him to bed. He only acquiesced when they reminded him that he would be no help to Aaliyah or the baby if he was half dead. It wasn't easy for Ezra to get to sleep. He was on edge and his nerves were frayed with anxiety. Priestly finally resorted to rubbing his cousin's back to get him to fall asleep. Just like when they were kids, it worked like a charm.

That is, until everyone was woken up a little after four that morning by the sound of pained moans and feet stomping back and forth across the house. Just as Ezra was getting up to find out what was going on, the bedroom door swung open, revealing Cameron.

"Ez, Aaliyah's contractions have started," she informed him. The dad-to-be's eyes widened as he processed the woman's words, and he shot out of bed and rushed to the other bedroom.

Ezra found Aaliyah curled up in her bed, her face scrunched up in pain. "Hey, Aaliyah," he said gently as he sat down next to her. He pulled the younger girl into his arms, and he could feel the muscles in her abdomen tightening under his hands. "You're doing good, sweetheart," he soothed as best he could. This wasn't something Ezra was very familiar with.

Mina came in at that moment to check on the younger girl. "How's she doing, Ez?" she asked as she put her hands on Aaliyah's stomach.

"I think she might've just had a contraction," he reported. "I'm not sure. I don't have a clue what I'm doing here. I've helped out with a couple of births volunteering at hospitals, but I was never this involved."

"Well, for right now, you're doing fine. She hasn't even started hard labor yet, so just stay with her and help her stay calm. I'll keep checking on her every once in a while to see how she's progressing. But she responds best to you, so try to help her stay as relaxed as possible."

"Okay, I'll try," promised Ezra. "How long is this supposed to take? I know labor takes a while, and birth takes even longer, but how long will it be before the baby's born?"

Mina shrugged. "No one knows but God," she answered helplessly. "Some women give birth quickly, others take hours, and even days." Ezra's jaw dropped in shock. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Ezra carded his fingers through Aaliyah's hair. "When did the contractions start?"

"She woke up Cameron and me about ten minutes before Cameron told you what was going on. So they probably started while she was still asleep, so who knows when they started."

Ezra gave a nod in understanding. "I'll stay in here and keep her company. Will you ask Bo or Jen to bring me something to drink?" With a promise that she would, Mina left the two in silence.

Hours passed slowly as Aaliyah's labor progressed. She understood everything Ezra was saying to her, but she didn't recognize any of the others when they entered the bedroom.

About one in the afternoon, Priestly was sitting with Ezra and Aaliyah, keeping his cousin company and letting the baby learn his voice as well. Ezra's concern grew as Aaliyah's contractions increased, so Priestly was there to help keep his cousin sane. Looking down at the bed, Priestly noticed a large wet spot on the sheets. "Uh, Zig, I think her water might've broken."

Ezra's eyes followed the finger Priestly pointed at the bed, and his anxiety shot even higher. "Oh my gosh, I think it did. Go get Mina." The older man ducked out the door and Ezra refocused his attention on Aaliyah, just in time for a strong contraction to clench her muscles. A scream tore from her throat as her hands gripped Ezra's shirt. "It's alright, Aali. Mina's coming. You're doing just fine."

At that moment, Mina burst into the room, Jen and Priestly on her heels. "Her water broke?" the midwife asked as she lifted the soaked sheet. "Yep, looks like it. Ezra, lift her up so we can put dry sheets on the bed." Doing as told, Ezra gathered Aaliyah in his arms and cradled her to his chest as the others moved to put clean sheets on the mattress. "Okay, you can set her back down. Help me lift her legs." As he did so, Ezra saw a little blood on the younger girl's thighs, and he felt the blood drain from his face.

"Whoa, Ziggy," exclaimed Priestly as he saw his cousin list to the side. "Hey, man, you alright?"

"I think the blood freaked him out," Mina said absently as she examined Aaliyah.

"He's never had trouble with blood before," mused Priestly as he took in the younger man's pale face.

"Take him outside for some air," Jen instructed. "I'll stay here with Aaliyah."

Priestly nodded and wrapped an arm around his cousin's waist. "Come on, Zig. Let's go outside." Ezra babbled incoherently as he was led through the house. "Breathe, Ezra." It was a struggle because of their height difference, but Priestly managed to make Ezra lean over and put his head between his knees. "Deep breaths, man." Ezra took deep, slow breaths, trying to calm down. "Dude, what was that?"

"I have no idea," rasped Ezra. "Normally the sight of blood doesn't bother me. I mean. I've volunteered at hospitals for years, seen all kinds of injuries, including a couple births. Why would I get so freaked out this time?"

"I wonder if it's because that's your baby being born," Priestly guessed. "You're much more emotionally involved with this one."

"I really wanted to be in there with Aaliyah during the delivery." Ezra sighed regretfully as he stood up, leaning against the side of the house. "I wanted to see my kid be born, you know?" A pained yell echoed through the house, making the men wince in sympathy.

"You can be there the next time you have a kid." Ezra turned to look at his cousin, eyebrows raised. "Don't even give me that look," Priestly admonished. "I know how much you want to get married and have a family. I've seen it in your eyes more times than I can count."

"I know we haven't been dating long, but I've been thinking I want that with Jen." The older cousin's eyes widened in delight. "Of course, I'm not going to do anything about it right now. It's way too soon for that. But I can see myself happy with Jen for the rest of my life."

"That's awesome, Zig." Priestly pulled his cousin in for a hug. "Actually..." He trailed off, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"What?" asked Ezra, smiling along with the older man.

"I, um, I'm gonna ask Tish to marry me." Before Priestly could look up into his cousin's eyes, he was engulfed in a giant hug by his giant cousin.

"Bo, that's wonderful," Ezra said with an enormous smile. "I'm so happy for you, man. I know she'll say yes. I've seen the way she looks at you." The men had big grins on their faces as they continued to talk about anything and everything. Their happy mood was dampened, however, by Aaliyah's screams. Ezra wished so badly he could help alleviate her pain, and the more she cried, the more Ezra hurt for her.

To help keep Ezra's mind off the cries coming from the house, Priestly kept up a litany of pointless topics of conversation. It helped some, but he could still see the worry and nervousness in his cousin's expressions and body language.

"So what names have you come up with for the baby?" asked Priestly. "Have you thought of names?"

"Yeah. Jen got me a book of baby names. It's really diverse, too. It's got names from tons of other countries and cultures."

"So what'd you come up with?"

"A girl name was easy. I picked Hadassah."

"Like Esther," Priestly realized, remembering the biblical heroine.

Ezra nodded. "I've always liked that name, so it was a no brainer. Coming up with a name for a boy wasn't as easy. Jen and I actually spent several days looking through the book and online for a good name. It took forever, and then it took even longer to decide what spelling I wanted to use."

"Must be some name," Priestly joked. "So what is it?"

"I decided-" Just as Ezra was about to reveal the name he'd chosen, Cameron came running outside.

"Ezra, come on back in," she summoned. "The baby's almost out."

"How's Aaliyah?" asked Ezra as he followed the woman back into the house.

"She's in agony," Cameron said sadly. Tears sprang to Ezra's eyes. He'd come to really care for Aaliyah, especially after she asked him to adopt her baby. "But it should be over very soon. The head's mostly out, and after that, the only obstacle left will be the shoulders. The baby should just slide right out after that."

"Thank you, God," Ezra prayed softly. "Thank you she's almost done."

"Amen," Priestly and Cameron agreed. "There is one thing we haven't discussed with you, though," Cameron continued. "As soon as you hear the baby cry, take your shirt off." She received confused looks from both men. "Once the baby's born, we'll bring him out here to you so he can learn who is father is, and the best way to do that is skin to skin contact. He'll be able to learn your heartbeat, your scent, and the sound of your voice and help him already start to develop a sense of identity."

"Okay, shirt off when the baby cries," repeated Ezra, taking deep, bracing breaths.

"Will you dry the kid off first?" wondered Priestly.

"Yes," answered Cameron. "We'll dry him off some so he won't be so messy, but the first thing we'll do is bring him or her to you."

"Hey, Cameron!" Mina's voice called.

"I'll bring him out to you as soon as we can." Then Cameron exited the living room, leaving the father and uncle waiting and pacing impatiently. What seemed to Ezra like an eternity later, Ezra heard a cry, a new cry that hadn't been present before. His baby had been born.

* * *

A/N: Sorry if any of this seems a little inaccurate. I've never been pregnant, so I have no personal experience. You guys don't even know how much research I put into this story, particularly for this chapter, oh my gosh. So much. Like, I get pregnancy ads on the internet now because of all the research I've done. It's nuts. But I wanted it to be as accurate as I could get it. I hope I was at least a little successful. Leave me a review please!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Alrighty! I'm so excited right now, you guys. You don't even know. So excited that I'm updating early! Whoo! I really shouldn't do stuff like this at midnight. It makes me all kinds of wired. It's the chapter everyone's been waiting for. Is Baby Hale a boy or a girl? And what will his or her name be? Proceed to find out!

Disclaimer: It took forever to figure out this kid's name. Like, really. It was nuts.

* * *

"Shirt off," Priestly reminded his shellshocked cousin, helping divest him of his shirt. Not a minute later, Cameron came back in with a towel-wrapped bundle in her arms.

"It's a little boy," she said happily as she deposited the still crying baby into his father's arms.

"I've got a boy?" Ezra whispered. He brought the tiny body of his son to his chest and held him closely.

"Congrats, Daddy," said Priestly. He, too, had tears in his eyes as he took in the sight of his new nephew. The little boy had very light skin, almost pink, promising to darken as he grew up.

"He's so beautiful," breathed Ezra. The baby's cries started to quiet as he learned who his daddy was. "Welcome to the world, little man. I'm so happy to meet you."

"What's his name, Daddy?" Priestly asked. He brought a hand up to stroke the baby's soft cheek.

"Ackerly," Ezra declared. "Ackerly James."

"Ackerly James Hale," repeated Priestly. "I like it. It's a good name." Both men stood quietly after that, with Ezra occasionally speaking softly to baby Ackerly.

There was no way Ezra could describe the feeling in his heart as he held his son. It was a warmth he had never felt before, and it filled every inch of him. The smile never left his face as tears of joy poured from his eyes, and he continued to talk and sing to his boy.

Priestly could see the joy shining from his cousin. It radiated from him, and the feeling was infectious. A door opened down the hall, and Priestly saw Jen walk into the living room. "How's Ezra doing with the baby?" she asked softly as she approached her friend.

"Couldn't be better," replied Priestly. He put an arm around Jen, holding her close as they watched the new family bond. Taking his phone out of his pocket, the older man got closer to his cousin to take a picture of Ackerly. He took one more of the two of them together and sent both pictures to Ezra's parents and Tish."Did Ziggy tell you the name he picked out for the kid if it was a boy?"

"I knew he was debating on James and another name, but he didn't tell me what it was or what he'd decided on. What's baby Hale's name?"

"Ackerly James," answered Priestly. "I like it a lot."

"That is cool," Jen agreed. "It'll certainly fit in with all the other unique names our little family has."

Priestly huffed a laugh. "That's certainly true. Boaz, Piper, Platisha. Yeah, he'll fit right in."

"I'm glad you like the name I picked for my son," Ezra's soft voice drifted over to the other two. "Did you tell Mom and Dad?"

"And sent them pictures," said Priestly. "Sent'em to Tish, too. She'll tell everyone else." At that moment, the new father felt something weird on his chest. It was almost like... biting? Nibbling? Looking down, Ezra saw Ackerly's little mouth moving around on the muscles of his chest. "It looks like somebody wants to eat," commented Priestly when he noticed what the baby was doing.

"I'll go get a bottle from Mina," Jen offered. She ducked out of the room to find the midwife and procure some nourishment for the newest member of the family.

Watching the baby gum his father's chest was almost too much for Priestly. He couldn't resist a little teasing. "I thought you were his father, Zig. Is there something you need to tell me?" he laughed. "Maybe I should've gotten you a breast pump instead of the whiskey."

"Shut up, Bo," retorted Ezra. "You know, he would've done the same thing to you if you were the one holding him. Then you wouldn't have any room to talk." Ezra bounced the baby boy, who had started squirming and fussing. "It's alright, baby. We've got some food coming soon." His words didn't comfort the hungry Ackerly, and his fussing only became more urgent. Finally, though, Mina and Jen appeared with a bottle in hand. "Thank goodness," Ezra sighed in relief. "I think if you'd taken any longer, he'd have started eating my chest."

"Then I guess it's good we didn't take any longer," joked Mina. "You'd look weird without a chest."

"I think the only reason he didn't is because he doesn't have any teeth." Ezra adjusted his hold on Ackerly so that he was nestled in the crook of his arm.

"You know how to hold the bottle to feed him?" asked Mina.

"Yeah." Ezra took the bottle and held it to Ackerly's lips, waiting for him to latch on to the rubber nipple. It took no time at all, and soon, Ackerly was chugging down his first meal. Now that his son was happily eating, Ezra settle into the nearby rocking chair, just enjoying holding his son in his arms. Once again, he felt that warmth bloom in his chest as he fed his child. Ezra didn't think he could ever get used to that wonderful feeling.

When he was finished with his bottle, Ezra lifted Ackerly to his shoulder to burp him. The loud burp coming from the baby's mouth made his father chuckle. He definitely fit in with his new family.

* * *

Two weeks passed by in a blur. Ezra was quickly learning the ins and outs of being a parent to a newborn, and boy, was it challenging. But he also discovered that he wouldn't trade it for anything. He relished the new emotions that fatherhood brought him, especially during what Mina called their skin to skin time. She encouraged Ezra to have some time everyday for skin contact with Ackerly. When Mina told him all the physical, emotional, and psychological benefits of regular skin to skin contact with his child, Ezra was floored and decided he certainly would continue doing it.

Mina also advised Ezra that he needed to be the only one to interact with Ackerly for a while. Others could talk to Ackerly, but Mina told Ezra that he needed to be able to bond with his father first and establish the parental connection. She did say, though, that if there was going to be someone helping him care for Ackerly pretty regularly, that person could be more hands on with him. Ezra decided that, as his baby's godfather, Priestly should be the one for Ackerly to get to know. Besides, Priestly had already agreed to help raise Ackerly anyway. It only made sense.

Jen decided to go back to Santa Cruz a week before Priestly and Ezra. The change in environment was already gong to be pretty drastic, so to make the transition a little easier for Ackerly, she offered to stay in Ezra's apartment for a while. This would allow the scents of Jamaica to infuse with the smells of Santa Cruz. Over time, the smells of his birthplace would fade, allowing Ackerly to get accustomed to his new home.

Jen's departure also made it easier for Ackerly to learn the sounds and scents of his primary and secondary caregivers without confusing him too much, for which Ezra was thankful. He promised her a night out at Mama Bella's as a thank you for her generosity.

"How much longer do you think we should wait before going home?" Ezra asked Mina as he rocked Ackerly after his bottle. "He's already almost two weeks old. Do you think it'd be okay to take him home?"

"I would think so," answered Mina with a shrug. "Some airlines are okay with babies flying at two days old, while others require them to be at least two weeks old. Either way, I'd say he's perfectly able to fly."

"I can go ahead and start packing up our stuff," Priestly offered. It was still weird for Ezra to see his cousin without the hair dye and makeup. The older man had graciously given up his hair dye and makeup due to the limited shower access. While the house had water, it wasn't always enough for everyone staying there to shower regularly. So they took turns showering every few days, bathing just the essentials in between. While he was grateful for Priestly's sacrifice, Ezra could tell his cousin was ready to get back to Santa Cruz and his shower. Heck, Ezra was looking forward to returning to his own shower and hot water.

Now that they had the okay from the midwife, the men could get back home to their family. While Ezra was booking their flight back to California, Priestly was on the phone with his aunt and uncle. "We're coming back home," he told the older couple happily.

"Good!" Mary shouted in excitement. "John and I have already gotten to Santa Cruz. Jen and Tish let us into Ezra's apartment so we wouldn't have to stay at a hotel."

"That's fine. I know Zig'll be happy to see you guys." With a surreptitious glance over his shoulder, Priestly assured his cousin wasn't listening. "What do you guys think of the nursery?"

"It's absolutely beautiful," Mary gushed. "I'm actually in there now. I can't get over it. Your friend Piper did an amazing job. I can't wait for you guys to get back and see it."

"Zig's getting our flight now. So we should be home in just a few days. I gotta say, as much as I've liked this place, I'm ready to be home."

"Tish is ready for you to be home, too." Though she couldn't see him, Mary was sure her nephew was blushing at the mention of his girlfriend. She let out a chuckle. "We're all ready for you guys to be back. We've missed you, and we can't wait to meet baby Ackerly."

"Well, you'll get to meet him in," Priestly turned to his cousin to see if he'd booked their flight yet, "Ziggy, you got us a flight yet?"

"Yep," Ezra answered. "Tomorrow morning at 9:15. And it's a nonstop."

"Tomorrow night," Priestly returned to the conversation with his aunt. "Our flight's tomorrow at 9:15, and it's about six and a half hours. Will you and Uncle John be the ones picking us up at the airport?"

"Yep. Tish and Jen will probably be coming with us, too. Actually, I'm pretty sure Tish will insist on it." Aunt and nephew chuckled knowingly.

"I hope she comes with you," Priestly confessed. "I've missed her. Phone calls just don't cut it, especially for this long."

"Then we'll make sure to bring Tish with us," promised Mary. "I guess I'll let you go so you can pack up for tomorrow morning. See you guys tomorrow. Tell Ezra we love him and can't wait to see him."

"Will do, Aunt Mary. See you tomorrow." After hanging up and relaying Mary's message to Ezra, Priestly went to the room he shared with his cousin and nephew to finish packing their belongings, leaving out only the things they would need for the next morning.

* * *

A/N: It took me the entire story to figure out the baby's name. I couldn't decide if his name should be Ackerly James or James Ackerly. I asked my family and a couple of my friends. What finally decided it was how the names would sound when shouted in parental anger. Ackerly James flowed better than James Ackerly. It gave me so many headaches. And now that the excitement has worn off, I need to go crash. Thanks for reading, guys. Review? Please? With cotton candy and cookies on top?


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Ha HA! Another update! I'm glad everyone liked Ackerly's name. I certainly like it, though it was a giant pain in the butt most of the time. But that is no matter now. Now we have chapter! Everyone enjoy!

Disclaimer: These mosquitoes are killing me! I'm so over them.

* * *

The flight was a little surprising to Ezra and Priestly. They were nervous about how Ackerly would react to the noises of the plane, especially at take off and landing. But he wasn't bothered a bit by those. No, what he had a problem with was the voice of the captain speaking through the intercom. They weren't really sure what it was about it that bothered Ackerly so much. They just knew he didn't like it. 

Thankfully, the captain hadn't needed to address the cabin very often, and Ackerly was pretty quiet for the most part, only fussing when he was tired, hungry, or needed a diaper change. Priestly was tickled to tell Jen that his flight was much more pleasant than she'd predicted. 

After a blessedly uneventful flight, Ezra and Priestly got off the plane and made their way through the terminal, looking for their family who would be picking them up. As they neared the front entrance, they spotted a large banner being held up by a small group of people. 

"Welcome home!" they all cheered, and the boys were welcomed into the open arms of Ezra's parents and Priestly's girlfriend. 

"Let me see him!" Mary and Tish demanded simultaneously. With a chuckle, the new daddy lowered his arms from his chest, reclining Ackerly in the crook of his arm so his new family could see him. 

"Aww! He's so adorable! Tish cooed over the baby. She put her finger in the palm of Ackerly's hand, letting his tiny fingers grasp her much larger one. "I can't believe how cute he is." 

"Is it alright if I hold him?" Mary asked her son. 

"Actually, the midwife who delivered him said it would be better if I were the only person to really interact with him for a while," Ezra explained gently. "Since I adopted him without having spent much time with him before he was born, he needs to learn who I am before learning who anybody else is. Bo's the only other one that can really be involved with Ackerly right now since he'll be a major fixture in Ackerly's life, but even he only gets limited involvement for right now." 

Though she was disappointed at not being allowed to hold her grandchild yet, Mary understood the importance of Ackerly bonding with Ezra first. "Can I at least give him a kiss?" she asked. "He's my first grandchild, after all." 

"Yeah, of course," agreed Ezra with a small grin. He held Ackerly out a little so Mary could get to him more easily. "Little touches here and there are alright, but for the first few months, I need to be the only one to interact with him." 

"That's fine," John said in understanding. He slowly approached his son and the tiny baby. "Hey there, Ackerly. I'm your granddaddy. I'm glad to finally meet you." John also planted a small kiss on his grandson's forehead before backing away. 

"You guys ready to get back home?" Tish spoke up, keys dangling from her fingertips. 

"You have no idea," groaned Priestly. "Get us out of this airport." 

"We kinda need our luggage first, Bo," joked Ezra, lifting Ackerly up to nestle back into his shoulder. "I'd rather like to take my belongings back home with me." Once the boys had their luggage, they followed their family out to the airport parking lot and were pleasantly surprised to the see the Causemobile waiting for them. 

"What?" Tish chuckled defensively when the boys turned questioning eyes to her. "Nobody else had a car that could seat so many people. So Trucker volunteered the Causemobile." 

"Your mom and I certainly had a good laugh when we first saw it," John laughed. 

"I guess it's kind of a good thing I didn't have a carseat for Ackerly," mused Ezra. "There's no way we'd be able to buckle it in." 

"Eh, he'll be alright till we get home," Priestly dismissed. "The drive to your apartment is shorter than either of the other trips we've had today. As long as you hold him closely and Tish drives carefully, we'll be just fine." 

"I don't doubt that a bit." An uneventful drive and a bottle later, Ezra and Ackerly were finally home. "Alright, baby boy. Let's go meet the rest of your family. You're gonna love'em." The others volunteered to carry in the bags so all Ezra had to carry was Ackerly. 

When the door was opened, a shout greeted them. "Welcome home!" their Beach City Grill family welcomed the homecomers. Standing in the middle of the living room were Trucker, Piper, Jen, Noah and Julia, and Mr. Julius and Lucille. All had huge smiles on their faces as they clapped for their newest family member. 

"Thank you, guys," Ezra said gleefully. He never got over the amazing things this group of people did for him. It truly touched his heart. Jen stepped away from the group to hug her boyfriend. "Thank you so much, Jen," he whispered as he wrapped his free arm around his girlfriend. "I've missed you." 

"I've missed you too, Ez," Jen replied just as softly. There were tears in both their eyes as they pulled away from each other. "Alright, let me see the little man again. I haven't seen him in a week." 

"Alright, everyone get close if you want to see the newest Hale." Ezra resettled Ackerly so he was facing more outward, giving everyone a better view of him. "Ackerly James, meet your family." 

"He's so precious, Ez," Piper gasped. Next to her, Julia peeked over Piper's shoulder from her dad's arms. 

"He's cute, Ezra," the little girl said sweetly. "Will his skin get darker? It's kinda light right now, isn't it?" 

"Yep," Ezra answered her innocent question. "His skin is lighter right now because he hasn't been in the sun enough for it to get very dark. But it'll get darker as he grows up." After a while of visiting and catching up after the boys' long trip, Ezra was ready to go to bed. "Well, I hate to throw everybody out, but I need to put little man here to bed." 

"You mean you need to put yourself to bed," Jen joked with a grin. 

"You're darn right. Today's been busy! I'm exhausted!" With a wake of laughter following him. Ezra carried his son through the apartment to the nursery. "Ready to see your new bedroom, little man?" he asked in a soft voice. When he opened the door, his jaw dropped. "Oh wow." 

The previously bare nursery was now a beautiful underwater world. The walls were painted a deep blue to look like the ocean, and there were fish, seashells, and coral giving life to the mural. There was a clock on the wall shaped like a fish, looking as though it were swimming with the other animals surrounding it. On the chest of drawers was a lamp with a dolphin base, and there were sea creature stuffed animals scattered about the room. The floor had cream colored carpeting to look like the sea floor. On one wall was the crib Ezra had bought, and on the other was a day bed. Both had blue sheets. The rocking chair beside the crib had been painted a kelp green, as had the frame of the day bed. The windows were covered by matching blue curtains, blending in perfectly with the walls. But Ezra's favorite fixture was the seashell mobile hanging over the crib. 

"Surprise," a few voices sang behind him. Whirling around, Ezra found his family standing behind him, pleased smiles on their faces. 

"You guys did this?" he asked in wonder. "I- this is... I don't even know what to say." 

"Piper did a great job, didn't she?" Priestly spoke up, nudging the artist standing next to him. Ezra's wide eyes turned back to her. 

"Well, I didn't do all of it by myself," Piper denied bashfully. "Pretty much everyone pitched in in some way or another, whether it was decorating or financing the project. It's from all of us." 

"I painted the rocking chair and bed," Julia volunteered proudly. 

"You did a magnificent job, Jules." Ezra pulled her to him in a hug. "I love it, guys. It's amazing. Look what your awesome new family did for you, Ackerly." His huge eyes scanned the room again, taking in all the details he could. "I can't thank you guys enough for this. I'm beyond amazed." 

"We're just glad you like it," Trucker said honestly. "That's good enough for us." 

"Alright, we better go so Ez can get to bed," said Jen. Once everyone had gone, leaving Priestly and the Hales in Ezra's apartment, the others decided to turn in as well. "Goodnight, sweetheart," Mary wished her son. "Come get us if you need anything." 

"Night, Mom, Dad. Hopefully, we'll all get at least a little sleep tonight." This drew a chuckle from the others. "Sweet dreams." Minutes later, the father and son were left alone. Despite how tired he was, Ezra decided he wanted some skin to skin time with Ackerly. With the busyness of the day, there hadn't been any time for them to have skin to skin time, and Ezra wanted to do that before going to bed. So after taking his shirt off, he undressed Ackerly down to his diaper and settled the both of them into the rocking chair. Humming his favorite hymn, Ezra rocked the chair back and forth, lulling himself and his child into sleep. Before succumbing to slumber, Ezra pressed a kiss to the crown of his baby's head. "Welcome home, Ackerly."

* * *

A/N: Man, I should do that with my own bedroom. How awesome would that be? Unfortunately, we only have one more chapter of Ten Inch Love Story. I've enjoyed this story so much, and I'm glad all of yall have too. See you guys tomorrow for the final chapter. Don't forget to review!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Alas, we have reached the end of the story. It's been so much fun, seriously. Thank you so much for all the reviews. They're so encouraging. I hope everybody enjoys the conclusion of TILS.

I swear, I didn't do it on purpose. I really didn't. It was just a very happy accident. You'll know what I'm talking about when you get to it. Just remember, I didn't plan it at all.

Disclaimer: Shoulder to shoulder, we'll answer Ireland's caaaaaaaaall!

* * *

The elevator dinged as the doors slid open to the hospital corridor. "C'mon, Uncle Bo," five-year-old Ackerly grumbled as he tried to tug his uncle out of the elevator.

"Hold up, buddy." Priestly stopped him, pulling him back by the hand. "Wait for Aunt Tish. She's got a bunch of presents for Mama and your new brother or sister."

"You want to carry the teddy bear?" Tish offered. She held out the stuffed animal, the light of the elevator glinting off her engagement and wedding rings.

The five-year-old took the plush toy and hugged it to his chest. "We go now, Uncle Bo?"

"Yeah, yeah, we're going." Priestly let Ackerly lead him down the hall, steering him in the right direction to the hospital room. "Do you think it's a baby brother or a baby sister?"

"I want a baby brother," Ackerly declared. "Did I get a baby brother?"

"We'll find out in just a few minutes." Before long, the uncle, aunt, and nephew found themselves at the right room. "Alright, bud, we gotta knock first."

Ackerly raised his hand and beat his tiny fist against the door, which opened to reveal a cheerful John. "Hey, guys," he greeted the group as he lifted his grandson into his arms.

"Where's my baby brother, Granddaddy?" Ackerly demanded.

"Hold on, little man," John chuckled. He quickly mumbled a greeting to his nephew and his wife before leading them all into the room. "Somebody's come to see his new sibling."

A smile lit up Ezra's face when he saw the rest of his family. "Hey, Ackles." He pulled his son into his arms for a hug. "Were you good for Uncle Bo and Aunt Tish?"

"Uh-huh. I did everything they told me to, and they even let me sleep with them in the big bed," Ackerly reported excitedly.

Behind them, Tish and Priestly went over to the bed to greet the new mom. "How you doing, Jen?" Priestly asked, wrapping her in a careful hug so as not to jostle the baby resting against her chest.

"I'm exhausted," she said, but she had a huge smile on her face. "But I couldn't be happier. Hey, Ackerly," she addressed her son, "ready to meet your new baby sister?"

Delighted gasps were heard all around the room. Ackerly nearly dove out of his father's arm to see his sister. "I got a baby sister?" All thoughts of a little brother were forgotten as he crawled up the bed to sit next to Jen and get a better look at the baby.

"That's right, little man. Meet your new sister, Hadassah Leigh." Jen brought Hadassah down and placed her carefully on Ackerly's lap, supporting her where the little boy's arms couldn't.

"Hi, Dassah," Ackerly said softly to his sister. He put a gentle hand on her smaller hand, his dark skin contrasting starkly with her much lighter complexion. When she felt her brother's touch, Hadassah's eyelids fluttered open a bit, giving everyone a peek at her temporarily blue eyes. "I'm your big brother."

"That's right, Ackles," said Ezra, sitting on the edge of the bed. "And I know you're gonna be a good big brother, right?"

"Right!" Ackerly cheered with a huge smile. "I'm gonna teach her all the important stuff. Like how to play teeball and which cookies are the best." All the adults around him chuckled at what he thought were the important things in life.

"Okay, guys," Mary suddenly called, brandishing a digital camera. "Huddle up. It's picture time."

"Where did you come from, Aunt Mary?" a startled Priestly asked his aunt.

"I forgot my camera at Jen and Ezra's place, so I had to go back and get it. Priestly, you and Tish back up a little. I want to get some of just them first." The couple complied with their aunt's request and waited for their chance to hold their new niece.

"Okay, Priestly, Tish. Your turn." Because he was closer, Priestly perched on the other side of Jen's bed and put one arm around his nephew and the other around his wife. "Smile!" Mary took several pictures of the two families. "Alright, someone come get the camera so John and I can get pictures with them."

With a soft laugh, Tish took the camera from her aunt. "Mary's really enjoying this, isn't she?" As requested, she took a bunch of pictures of the children, parents, and grandparents.

"Of course she is," Priestly agreed. "She didn't get to do this with Ackles when he was born. We were in a whole other country." Now that family pictures had been taken, everyone was free to pass Hadassah around.

When it was Tish's turn to hold her, Priestly's heart jumped, and his breath was stolen. He couldn't stop the small, warm smile from lighting up his face. Once Hadassah was back in her mother's arms, the other couple stepped back for a quiet moment to themselves to observe the rest of their happy family.

"You think we should tell them?" Priestly whispered to Tish, his arm snaking around her waist to settle on her hip. His fingers danced lightly against her side.

Tish shook her head. "Nah, we'll have time for that later. This is their day." They both smiled as Tish laced her fingers with her husband's and pulled his hand up to settle against her stomach. She was right, Priestly had to admit. There would be plenty of time later to share their own news. Besides, it would be pretty nice to keep it to themselves for a little while. For now, they were content to share in their family's joy. So he gave her a kiss and they rejoined their loved ones in celebrating the newest member of their family.

* * *

A/N: I reiterate, I did not plan that when I picked out Ackerly's name. It really was just an accident. And how about Priestly and Tish's little surprise? I didn't plan that either. I was just as surprised as you are. Thank you guys so much for being a part of this with me. It's been so much fun. Review please! See you guys in the next story. **:)**


End file.
